Stuck
by CCougar42709
Summary: The story of heartbreak and romance between Cat and Robbie. After "Prom Wrecker"
1. Prome

A/N: I don't own the awesomeness of Cat, Tori, Robbie or any other Victorious characters. And "Tug" never came in Prom Wrecker.

Hey there. I'm Robbie Shapiro. I go to Hollywood Arts, along with the rest of the crowd around me here at "Prome". Everyone was happily partying it up just a moment ago, but Tori stepped up to sing "Best Friend's Brother" since Jade cancelled the band. Man, that woman is such a gank.

Anyway, Tori is killing it, which is similar to what I feel. Dead. I've been floating around for a couple of hours, dancing a little bit, just keeping my mind occupied for a while. What did I do anyway? She could of just said no. That would have hurt, but I wouldn't be here at least seeing her enjoy herself alone.

Caterina Valentine. She's on Tori's right, singing the high note of "BFB". Most people think she's dumb, ditzy, weird, immature. I think she's gorgeous, funny and cute beyond words at the same time. And I somehow fell for her. HARD.

"Yeah! Yeah! A punk rock drummer, and he's 6 foot 3…" Tori, Andre and Cat sang, as it started to rain harder.

I kept singing along, hiding the fact that I feel like yelling at Cat for completely breaking my heart for about a week. But I can't yell at Cat. She's too innocent, cute and too…Cat to yell at her.

Finally the song ended and I practically ran to my car. There aren't many nights like tonight in California, since we're in a drought and all.

"I don't want to, but I want to… cause I just can't get him out of my mind…" ran through my head.

Girls have never been my thing. The first girl I liked threw her crayons at me when I was in the 4th grade, the year before my parents transferred me to a performing arts school, kinda a feeder for Hollywood Arts. I've always been the weird one, the glasses kid, the metal mouth, the kid with glasses again. I've had one or two girlfriends, but nobody lasted very long.

Cat has always been the cute, popular one. I met her in the sixth grade, and she basically owned every guy in the school, short of me. I just kept to myself mostly, and she and her massive gang of friends avoided "the kid with glasses".

But about a year ago I started paying more attention to the scene at Hollywood Arts, being a innocent freshman. The gigantic group of friends that had hung around Cat had diminished to Beck, Andre and Jade, who Beck had started dating the summer before. I had only met Jade once, and that encounter ended with me having my lunch all over me. Not much has changed really.

Cat was still the same girl from sixth grade, and that had turned into a disadvantage now at Hollywood Arts. Students thought she was ADD or worse, and teachers thought she wasn't taking acting seriously. With her circle of friends drastically reduced, I slowly gained her trust, and we got closer. Then Tori came and took the school over with the mad singing talent. Then as everyone else started advancing in acting, I started going in a different direction, but kept on the acting path too.

Hollywood Arts started an after school writers class a few years ago. Most people don't know about it since there is such a big rush to get away from school after 2:30. There's about 10 kids in there not counting me and the sponsor, Ms. Clarke says I have the most potential of anyone there.

Home at last. I walk to my room, seeing Rex. I pick him up.

"So, how'd it go?" He asked.

"Bad, Cat was alone." I explained.

"Told you that—" He started as I flung him off my hand and into the corner.

I flopped onto my bed. I usually don't make predictions, but this will probably be a sleepless night.


	2. Monologues and Cupcakes

Ms. Clarke gave me the best idea ever. She told me yesterday that what I felt about Cat is happening to tons of teenagers out there, guys and girls. She said that if I made a journal it might be sold as a guide to love as a teenager. So that's what I've been doing over study hall, which is my period before Sikowitz and then lunch.

But this time I got absorbed in it and now am late walking to class…..which is…..now.

I immediately look down as the door opened. "Sorry everyone." I said, taking the seat farthest from everyone and nearest the door. I didn't catch anyone's looks, but I'm fine with that.

"So, as I was saying," Sikowitz continued, looking in my direction pointedly. "Sometimes you have to play a part passionately but feel detached from the production as a whole."

"What your saying is play your part….but stay away from everyone else?" Andre asked, sounding very confused.

"No, what I mean is just stay away from the other actors. Actors listen to other actors more than director's and stage hands. But sometimes you just have to do things yourself." He explained.

"So we can't be friendly?" Cat asked, sounding thoroughly disappointed.

"No, what he means is that if someone else says something about your performance, good or bad, sometimes you have to block them out." Beck supplied.

"Exactly, but you have to know when…." Sikowitz started again, reaching for his coconut juice. My attention was completely lost. Most of the roles I play are 1 or 2 liners at best and it's in the middle of a scene. I'm pretty sure he's talking to everybody in the room but me.

Speaking of parts in plays and stuff. I haven't gotten one in a couple of months. They put a show on every couple of weeks, so I have a losing streak of 8-9 going right now. Freshman getting parts that used to be mine, while I barely sneak onto Tech Crew with Sinjin.

Tori has been on the radio over the last two weeks for singing "Beggin on your Knees" and got interviewed by some big radio entertainment show, Moog Radio. I'm sure once "BFB" hit the airwaves she will get a lot more attention. She's staring to embrace the whole " I have some serious talent as a singer" thing as is spending a whole lot of time with Andre.

Beck and Jade have been quietly fighting recently ever since Beck got back from Vancouver after seeing family. Jade was furious that he left for "Prome" and left her with "Vega and the talent less" which caused Andre, Cat and I to storm out of the room while a screaming match ensued between Tori and the gank.

Of course, when I say "Cat and I" I don't say we left talking or anything. We haven't talked much ever since Tug was proven to not exist and I want to say I'm fine with that, but I'm not. I still don't understand why she didn't just say "No, I'm sorry Robbie, I don't want to go with you." instead of making up a fake guy. Sorry, I miss her and would love to talk to her, but—

"Boo! I hear someone say right in my ear. I practically jumped out of my skin and fell right out of my seat.

I turned to see who scared me, only to find her, Cat, smiling happily while gazing at me.

"Hey, what was that for?" I asked, slightly smiling.

"Well, you zoned out when Sikowitz gave us the projects so I decided to scare you, and it worked." She finished, giggling.

"What project?"

"We're supposed to make a original monologue about something." She answered.

"Doesn't sound hard." I said, looking at Beck and Jade, who were being very lovey-dovey at that moment.

"Yeah, do you want to come over to my place and work on it?" She asked, putting her chin on her hands placing her face very close to me.

_OMG OMG OMG, Yes!_

"Uhh…sure, I need your address then." I told her, looking at Sikowitz.

"Hey Cat!" Tori called from the other side of the room. Cat got up, looking a bit crestfallen as she walked away.

I spent the rest of the period on my pearphone looking up possible topics for our monologue in case Cat was excited when I came over, which seemed like a safe bet.

I waited patiently for her to text me the address, and when she wanted to meet, but lunch, 4th, 5th and 6th periods all passed.

I was starting to get antsy when my phone broke me from my stupor in Anatomy, which has to be the worst class ever.

_Cat- 9465 Ladybug Drive, turn left off of Sunburst and Colorado, anytime after 4 is fine xoxo_

Lucky for me the bell rang soon after, otherwise I might have exploded with excitement.

When I was stuck in the terrible traffic trying to get out of the parking lot I had a genius idea. Bake Cat some cupcakes. Simple, but it'll put her in a good mood. I usually don't tell people, but I can do a little cooking.

After my run to the store, making the batter and stuff and letting it cook it's finally my favorite part. I make all sort of fun designs with the frosting, pack it into a container so they won't get messed up, then head over to Cat's.

About halfway there I remember to tell her that I'm coming.( Robbie is bold, Cat is italicized)

**Coming over Cat **

_Huh?_

**I'm driving to your house right now**

_YAY!_

I feel awesome. I haven't smiled this much in weeks and I'm about to spend some time with a amazing girl.

I drive up, leaving the cupcakes in the car. I ring the doorbell. I can see a shadow coming to the door.

"Robbie!" Cat yelled, hugging me as soon as she opened the door.

"Hey Cat." I replied. "What's up?"

"Nothing…waiting for youu." She smiled shyly, then giggled. "Come in!" She pulled me in by the hand, taking me to her room.

The first thing I see is pink everywhere. Pink walls, with a red pillow and bedspread. It should clash terribly, but it looks just right.

I snap out of my daze remembering about the cupcakes.

"Hey, I forgot something in the car, I'll be right back." I told her, as she sat down on her bed Indian style.

I grab the cupcakes out of the car. Before entering the house I examine them. Looking perfect for the perfect girl.

I open Cat's door to find her in the exact same position as when I left, looking at her phone .She didn't look up until I was handing her a cupcake.

"Eeep!" She yelled, happily taking the cupcake. "Thank you Robbie! You're the best!"

"Do you like them?" I asked nervously, since I had never made these cupcakes before.

"Love them." She replied.

We sat in silence, enjoying our cupcakes. I never even thought about talking, it was too perfect. She was so happy, all because of a little cooking I did. It wasn't much, but it made her so happy.

"You know, nobody ever does stuff like this for me." She quietly said, lying back onto her pillow.

"I'm glad I did it then." I replied.

"Do you think I'm dumb?" She asked in a rush.

"NO!" I said loudly, causing her to pop up off her pillow. "You just are yourself, and people don't understand that."

"So when Rex called me ditzy the other day you didn't believe him?" she asked, eyes large and innocent, waiting anxiously for my answer.

"No, never Cat. I love your personality, it's a lot of fun to be around you."

She laid back on my leg. " Thank you Robbie."

"Anytime"

We stayed like that for hours, talking about life, how stressful things were, school. I found out a lot about her. Even her family thinks she's kinda weird sometimes. She cried as she told me that. Somehow I stayed calm as I calmed her down, telling her that they'd come around.

Shortly afterward, we were laughing our heads off at a video from Splashface when Cat's mom came in, and invited me to dinner. Cat's family is nice, but they occasionally made the subtle joke about Cat that she didn't understand. Easy way to make me mad.

When I got home a few hours later I found that I had 1 new message from Cat.

_Miss you already! We need to make this a regular thing! See you tomorrow!_

Can she get anymore adorable? I don't think so, but I'm not against it.

Talk about a wonderful girl.


	3. Stood Up

The moment I walked into school the next Monday I knew something was wrong. A few people were giving me weird glances. I went through my mental checklist.

_Cologne, yeah, teeth, check, hair, that too…what could it be then?_

I try to put them out of my mind as I got my stuff out of my locker.

"Hey Robbie, did you hear the news?" Tori asked, walking up to me.

"No what happened?" I asked.

"TORI!" Trina yelled, quickly advancing towards her.

Tori readjusted her purse and fled as fast as she could, leaving me to my scattered thoughts.

First period went well enough. Nobody gave me the weird looks. Same for second.

But the moment I get into Sikowitz's class I know something isn't quite right. How do I know? Jade looked at me when I walked in, and had a sympathetic look on her face. That's right, she looked like she didn't want to be in the room at all when I got into the room.

"Hey guys, what's up?" I asked.

"My brother kept on calling the number, not thinking that they would come and take his apple..." Cat continued on with her conversation even though Tori wasn't paying attention anymore.

Beck and Andre gave me a sad look. Andre mouthed "I'm sorry man." Towards me, before Sikowitz told us to take our seats.

"How was everyone's weekend?" He asked.

Beck and Jade gave non committal shrugs, Tori told a story of how she dealt with an annoying Movie Producer who thought she was 21, and Andre simply said he DJ'd a big party.

Cat attempted to speak up, but the lesson soon started. I swear it was a review on a movie he saw called "I don't Remember". He called people up to act out various parts of the "terrible" movie, and said that we could act better.

After the bell rung, I caught up to everybody in the hallway. Cat was trying to talk to everyone, but they all seemed distracted. However, before I could finally ask what was wrong the lunch rush came and swept them away.

I usually don't see anybody after Sikowitz so after getting some massive homework I went ahead and went home to prep for Cat to come over. After we "worked" on our monologue, she said we should meet today at 7.

So after vacuuming, shopping, and cooking more cupcakes ( I found out last time that she eats like 5 in 3 minutes) I'm finally ready, and just in time, since it's 7 now.

7:15- _Where is she?_

_Cat, did you get lost?_

_7:30- Getting antsy_

_Cat, you ok?_

_7:45-Fiddling around with my phone, tempted to text again_

I log onto the slap. Beck and jade are out for dinner….Tori fell down the stairs, haha…..Andre got another DJ offer…Cat's out with her new boyfriend….

_Wait…WHAT!_

So that's what all those looks were about….Cat got a boyfriend over the weekend. Great…I did all this for nothing.

Now I'm furious. Again, she could of told me. I would of understood. Now I spent all this time, effort and money just to be coldly stood up by the nicest person I know.

Infuriation quickly turns to confusion. I hope I didn't interrupt anything between them. I don't want to break them up…right?

Ok, I admit it. I'm beyond jealous. Big surprise huh. I fell for her and now get my heart broken. Figures, I've always been the outsider, the kid everyone was reluctant to admit that they knew. After all, why would she, the beautiful, adorable and popular Cat Valentine want to go out with me. All I am is socially awkward, quiet, smart, nice, not cute and completely hopeless when it comes to girls.

Maybe I should just kinda fade into the background, taking my bruised heart with me. Yeah, that should be my plan of action. Start working harder on my acting and writing while slowly distancing myself from Cat. What about the rest of my friends though? They are going to notice any change between Cat and I.

Who cares what they think. This is about me getting over Cat, or at least trying to.

10:55- The Slap

Cat Valentine- Best first date ever. Thanks to Michael. Love you baby!


	4. Love Doctors

_Get over to my place man, big news, gotta talk to you-Beck_

I quickly hopped into my car and went about 20 mph above the speed limit to get to his RV in a record time of 9 minutes.

I quickly knocked on the door. I heard a lot of movement before Beck opened the door.

"Hey, c'mon in man." He said, ushering me inside. Once inside, he quickly shut the door and dead bolted it.

"Ha HAH!" Andre exclaimed.

I whip around to him pointing at me, while Tori had a look of satisfaction on her face.

"What's going on…" I ask quietly, wondering what is going on.

"We've seen enough, and stepping in." Jade said, lounging on the couch with some Frozen Yogurt.

"Ok, please fill me in…" I ask, still confused.

"You and Cat!" Tori exclaimed.

"Yeah, what about us? I haven't seen her except for Sikowitz in a week." I say defensively.

"Because your avoiding her." Beck chimed in, sitting on his couch.

"Am not."

"Then why haven't you been at lunch with us? I missed you?" Tori said quietly.

"I didn't miss him." Jade said, smiling deviously.

"Shh." Beck supplied.

"I got a big project." I explained, which was half-true.

"Who's it for?" Andre asked.

"Clarke."

"She's a senior English teacher." Tori supplied. "Trina wants to kill her." She explained to the others, who were looking at her with amazement.

"Why do you have a project for a senior English teacher?" Jade pushed.

"None of your business." I supplied, pulling some water bottles out of Beck's fridge, and tossing two to Tori and Andre.

"Fine, I'll drop it, back to you and Cat." Tori plowed forward.

"What's up with you man?" Beck asked bluntly.

"Nothing, Cat and I—" I start.

"Liar. You like her. A lot." Jade said smugly.

I splutter when she said that, basically confirming her guess.

"Nice sweetie." Beck said, rubbing her hair.

"Don't call me sweetie." She bit back.

"So you do like her." Andre asked.

"Yeah…."

"How long?" Tori asked.

"Right about the time you came to Hollywood Arts, but it wasn't that bad then, I just put it aside. But now it's too big to ignore." I explained.

"And Michael came in and snatched her away, just as you started to make a move." Beck said. I gave him a puzzled look.

"She texted everyone about your awesome meeting at her house about the monologue." Jade told me.

"Oh."

"So what are you going to do?" Tori questioned.

Just then Justin Bieber's Baby rang out.

"Turn that OFF!" Andre demanded.

"No." Jade said, rocking her head to the music, while dodging Beck hands trying to get the phone.

"Jade! Nobody likes him!" Beck said breathlessly, trying to get her phone.

"Maybe I love him more than you? How about that?" Jade threatened.

"You'd be downgrading." Beck smugly said. Jade whacked him on the top of the head.

"OW!" Beck said, as I laughed.

Jade grabbed a spiral and chucked it at me. I grabbed it in mid air and turned back to her, smiling.

"Nice try." I mocked. She responded my sticking her tongue out at me.

"Easy now throwy." Tori smiled, earning a glare from Jade.

"Seriously man, what are you going to do?" Andre asked.

"That's what I've been trying to figure out." I explained, vocalizing my thoughts for the first time in about a week.

"Try to win her back?" Beck asked, sounding like he just threw it out there, seeing if it would stick.

"No, he's too hot. Have you seen his—" Jade began.

"JADE!" Andre, Beck and I all yelled at the same time. I turned to Tori pleading for some assistance.

"Don't look at me, the boy has …. some assets if you know what I mean." She smiled at Jade, and she returned it.

I groaned, closing my eyes.

"Then you really have one other option." Jade said, like she read my mind. I had just thought that not a second earlier.

"Yeah.."

"Which is?" Andre asked, confused. I felt everyone's eyes on me, even though my eyes were still closed.

"Suck it up, deal with Michael and wait for my chance." I said darkly. I felt Tori crouch down beside me. How do I know it was her? Her perfume, which she mentioned in a skit for Sikowitz the other day. Strawberry Fields.

She whispered into my ear "You can do this. Remember, it's for her own good. You're a better guy than Michael, assets or not." She laughed, then kissed me on the cheek.

I heard Andre inhale slightly as I opened my eyes.

"I think our work is done." Beck said.

"Call if you need another session of "The Love Doctors"" Andre said, finishing with a flair.

"Yeah, count me out." Jade said, still eating Fro-Yo.

Beck rolled his eyes. "See ya later man." He said as I stepped outside, sliding into my car.

I drove in silence back to my apartment. What the others said had struck me. Especially Tori.

_Am I really that way? That ready? I don't think so, I'm not Beck or Michael._

Michael, just the thought of him made me want to throw something or scream. How could he take Cat? I would say my Cat, but she was never mine.

"Hey sweetie." My mom said as soon as I got back home.

"Hey." I replied, continuing on to my room.

"Stop right there young man." Mom demanded. I spun on the spot, facing her.

"Yes? What's going on?" I asked.

"Mamaw wants dinner with you to talk about that girl you brought over."

I sighed heavily. "I'll call her in a sec to decide when."

_I am never calling that crazy lady._

"Ok sweetie." She said, turning back to the kitchen.

I went back to my room, logging onto my computer.

The Slap- Keep on keeping on :) - Robbie


	5. Rapid Boil

I closed my eyes, while the chatter of my classmates slowly dissipated as Sikowitz walked to the center of the stage.

"I am now posting the roles for "Turn Away". He said. Turn Away was a story about two lovers that had drastically different opinions and lives, but find themselves falling in love.

Everyone is the class rushed up to the stage except me. I patiently waited for the crowd to come away from the board before making my way up there.

However, before I made it, a streak of Red crushed herself against me.

"You did it Robbie! I'm so proud of you!" Cat squealed into my shoulder. Over her shoulder, Beck and Tori gave me a thumbs up.

"Thanks…what did I do?" I asked Cat, who seemed ready to explode with happiness.

"You got the lead!" She squeaked.

I looked towards the paper on the board. Sure enough, Robbie Shapiro as Steven, who is the male lead.

I separated from Cat, and turned towards my seat. Jade smiled at me and Andre gave me a fist bump as I sat down.

"Now, time for ABC improvisation, Cat, Beck, Andre, Tori, Robbie and Jade please come up." He said, relinquishing the stage to us.

I leaned against the wall, as the rest of them positioned themselves. They all took a glance at each other, then at Cat and I, who were across the stage.

"Start with w!"

"Well, has everyone heard the rumor going around?" Jade asked the group at large.

"Xylophones are getting popular again?" Cat exclaimed.

"Yeah, not quite yet." Andre said teasingly, but smiling.

"Zebra's signify love don't they?" Tori asked.

_Crap, I know where this is going…_

"Almost never Vega." Jade quipped, glaring at Tori.

"Babies are cute!" Cat said happily, smiling to nobody in particular.

"Can love be caused at first sight?" Beck asked.

"Don't you know all about that Cat?" I asked, causing everyone's eyebrows to raise up.

_I can dish it out and take it…_

"Everyone knows I'm not good with that kind of thing…I need to be around you." She said quietly.

"Friend of mine said you knew Michael for two days before you asked him out." Andre supplied effortlessly.

"This is so EPIC!" Sikowitz squeaked. We all glared at him.

"Gee, that isn't very long." I said, causing Cat to look at me like I just threw a cupcake in her face.

"Hey, love doesn't have to have a time frame!" she defended herself.

"I never said it had one." I shot back. She looked relieved that I wasn't pressing the issue.

"Jade, isn't someone in this room in love that isn't in a relationship?" Beck asked. Tori squirmed uncomfortably to my left.

"Ke$ha is in a relationship." Andre said, causing everyone not performing to look at him like he was crazy.

"Love is like being buried alive." I quietly said. Sikowitz looked at me mournfully.

"Men feel that way all the time, you're not alone." Tori said.

"Now, can we get back to the point?" Jade exclaimed.

"Of course, the rumor was that Robbie likes Cat." Beck calmly said. Cat's eyes jumped to my face. I tried to maintain a look of calm.

"Please, they could never work. Robbie is boring." Andre said, clapping me on the shoulder.

"Quit being mean to him!" Cat yelled.

"Remind me why please." Jade asked.

"See, Robbie is just another friend. I don't like him." Cat said calmly.

_Boom. There's the straw the broke the camel's back._

"Tell me why I'm here again?" I growled, glaring at Beck and Jade.

"Unless you have Five dollars, no." Tori said, holding out her hand.

"Veela cause people to do crazy things to get attention." Cat said dreamily.

"Well, if they existed yes." Jade said darkly.

"Xplain again why—" Andre started, but was interrupted by the bell.

I scooped up my backpack, and quickly get out of Sikowitz's room. I hear Beck call out to me, and Cat ask what just happened, but I ignore them all and take several detours before getting to Ms. Clarke's room. I spent all of my lunch venting my heartbreak, embarrassment and despair into my story on my laptop.

My phone is vibrating the entire time. I expect them to come looking for me, so I position myself by the door so if they look in they don't see me.

Within 10 minutes, I hear Andre and Tori calling my name. I put my index finger over my lips, signaling to Ms. Clarke I don't want to be disturbed. She stays quiet, and they walk right by.

Thank goodness I see nobody the rest of the day. I really don't want to talk to them. The moment I get home I throw myself into the lines for " Turn Away". Before I know it, my mom is yelling at me because dinner is ready.

I go through the motions at dinner. Then, I decide to go on an impromptu walk.

It's a nice night, for such a terrible day. Funny how those things go together, good and bad, light and dark. Opposites attract, yeah right.

I'm mad at everything really. The entire world. They built me up on a bed of likes and pulled them out from under me on stage today.

I'm starting a plan C. Work so hard that your feelings get pushed to the side.

I see a couple walking a few feet ahead of me. I hear a familiar laugh, a laugh that has gotten into my dreams, and made me relive them, since that was the only place we could be together.

It's them. The couple of destiny. The one that caused Cat to throw away her "You can't go out with someone you just met" rule she told me about last summer. Cat and Michael. The name is like gasoline. I focus on the pavement ahead of me as I hear something I really didn't want to hear.

"How was your day? You never said." Michael asked.

"Awesome, since I get to see you." She squeaked.

Get a room. And while your at it, get me a escape from this torture. Please?


	6. Play and Park

"That's why true love always works out in the end." I said, then kissing the other lead, a friend of Trina's as the curtains closed. I hear fervent applause as everyone moved to take a bow. Afterwards, I started to head back to the dressing room, but was accosted by two pairs of strong arms.

"Hey! Let me GO!" I said demandingly to Beck and Andre, who waved me off and brought me to Jade and Tori.

"Hey there busy bee!" Tori said brightly, hugging me.

"I was starting to worry, you seemed determined to ignore us forever." Jade said, not sarcastically for once, but actually showing a girly side. Wait, she's Jade. She doesn't have a girly side, just a bad mood and worse mood.

After that night, I deleted their combined 78 texts, 24 voicemails and 103 missed calls. Notably absent was Cat, who was by far the lowest. .I threw myself into the play as I said, and here I am, wondering what to do now.

I shrugged, not in the mood to talk. I just want some Fro-yo and to get out of this stupid costume.

"Uh oh, you don't want to talk now do you?" Andre surmised.

"I'd like to change and get Fro Yo before starting this conversation." I explained. Everyone moved so I could get changed. When I emerged from the black box I found them waiting to follow me to get Fro Yo.

I ordered a massive batch of Cookies and Cream/Vanilla. I had never liked Vanilla before our stage kiss, but ever since then I always order it along with a rotation of cookies and cream or strawberry. She's definitely gotten to me.

"I love you, to you that means so much less, you're like the tear in my brand new dress, It's a beautiful mess." Came out of my stereo as I drove to the park a few minutes away from school. Beck, Tori and Andre followed me all the way to a area by the fountain where I finally sat down, enjoying my Frozen treat for a job well done.

"Good idea man." Beck complimented, after a minute or so of comfortable silence. Jade smiled at me, while Tori and Andre kept devouring their Fro-Yo.

"You ok?" Tori finally spoke up.

"I'm ok, still kinda numb. Not hurting at least." I said. Andre had a worried look on his face.

"I don't think she meant it so harshly." Jade said. It took me a while to notice, but Jade and Cat were really close, and Jade was always protecting her.

I agree with what she said partially, but the "just another friend" part was what really stung.

"Still though." I said.

"I agree with Robbie, no matter what it still hurts." Tori said.

"Has she said anything about it?" I asked. Everyone's first response was one of disgust.

"What?" I asked defensively.

" I'm pretty sure she's hurting, but is hiding it." Andre explained.

"How?" I persisted.

"She keeps on bringing Michael" Tori cringed as she said the name. "to our table at lunch."

"I think she's trying to make up for your absence." Jade surmised.

"When did she start doing this?" I asked.

"Two days after the improv." Andre supplied.

"Not the first day?" I asked, surprised.

"She expected everything to be ok, but that lunch was full of awkward conversation." Beck said. "Not blaming you of course." He finished.

"So she's bringing him as her "Robbie Replacement?"" I said, filling in the gaps.

"Exactly." Jade said.

"So where does that leave me?"

"Oddly enough, exactly where you were after our RV talk." Tori said, discarding her cup in the trash.

"Keep waiting?" I exasperatedly asked the group at large.

"Yeah." Beck said.

"Just be patient." Jade said. "Love never starts perfect." She finished, with a pointed stare at Beck.

"Oh, no, don't get into THIS argument again." Beck immediately replied.

"What is going on?" Tori asked, as Beck and Jade argued so fast I couldn't tell what either was saying.

"When Beck started liking Jade, he didn't start off so hot." I explained, smiling to myself at the memory.

Tori's eyebrows arched, in evident surprise.

Andre picked up where I left off. "Beck liked Jade for a while, but waited FOREVER to ask her out."

"I didn't know how to ask!" Beck supplied. He and Jade were absorbed in their own argument, oblivious to our discussion, otherwise we wouldn't be having the conversation at all. It's kind of a taboo in our circle of friends.

"But when he eventually asked her, he did it in a normal, conventional way." I continued.

"Ok…what went wrong?" Tori asked.

"He brought her flowers."

"No…." Tori suddenly had a devious smile.

"How was I supposed to know you hated flowers? 95 % of girls LIKE flowers!" Beck ranted.

"I'm not 95 % of girls now am I? You should of done more research!" Jade retorted, getting red in the face.

Andre chuckled at the sight of their lively argument.

"So what happened?" Tori quickly asked.

"Jade cut up the flowers and yelled at him so much he left her house." I told her.

"Aww. Poor Beck." Tori said, looking sadly at Beck, who was still bickering with Jade.

Jade quickly turned around. "No, no "Poor Beck.""

Tori raised her hands defensively.

Andre picked up the story again. "So Beck went ahead and did more research."

"And by that he means Beck got the custodian to unlock her locker and saw that she loves scissors." I told her.

"So he bought a WHOLE bunch of scissors and made a sign, asking her out." Andre finished.

"And the rest is history." Jade said, kissing Beck happily.

Tori laughed, "You guys sure know how to make each other happy." She had a slight frown to her face as she said it though.

We all stood up and started walking back to our respective cars.

"You just need to stay patient man." Beck said.

"Or simply know what makes her happy." Jade told me, smiling.

"Hey guys!" A cheery voice said behind us.

_Oh NO…Not THEM!_

Beck, Jade, Andre and Tori's faces all had a similar look, glancing at me simultaneously.

"Hi Cat." Beck said, not sounding too pleased.

Cat missed the tone, but plowed right on. "What are you guys doing here?"

Andre and Jade still had their Fro-Yo cups in their hands. Jade showed hers to Cat.

"Aww man, we could of joined you guys!" She exclaimed with evident disappointment.

"Yeah, we were just about to go get some." Michael said. "I'm Michael by the way. Nice to finally meet you." He said, extending his hand.

I shook his hand. "Robbie, nice to meet you." I politely smiled.

Confusion flicked across his face. "Do you know Cat? She's never mentioned a Robbie."

My heart feels like someone just sucker punched it. The rest of the group excluding Cat and Michael looked at Cat completely appalled.

"A little."

"Ok." He turned to Cat. "Sweetie, you didn't say you knew Robbie."

Cat finally turned to me. "Sorry, forgot." She said flatly. Hi Robbie." She finished in a perky voice.

If looks could kill, Michael would be dead right now, and Cat would be on life support. Beck and Andre look ready to explode.

"Sorry to cut this short, but I need to be getting back home. It's getting close to midnight." I explained, hoping I could squeeze out of this tight spot."

"Yeah, we all should probably be getting home." Tori said, backing me up.

_I owe her something very expensive. Thank you TORI!_

"True, I guess I'll see you all again." Michael said politely. "Nice meeting you Robbie."

I nodded, and quickly got into my car, forcefully shutting it. This is truly like being buried alive.

(A/N: Notice that Robbie never says Cat's name. Hmm….)


	7. Escape

It's a very nice day outside. The sun is shining, there isn't a cloud in the sky and it's just 7 in the morning.

I decide to get a early start and go get some coffee with lactose free milk in it. After that I pull into the parking lot, thinking about my next move. The weekend went fine, and today is the first day since the meeting in the park.

I know one option I don't have is hiding behind the play, since we performed it for the last time on Sunday, to the largest crowd out of the three performances. Sikowitz told me that I had performed wonderfully and that he originally was reluctant to give me the role since I hadn't had a large role in a long time, but now was glad he did it.

My "Book", if you could call it that basically took up the rest of the weekend. The drama between Cat and I has definitely given me some good material, along with some things I'd do differently. One I wouldn't change? Falling for her in the first place.

I'm sure all the guys in the world say this about the girl they're in love with, but I love Cat, flaws and all. In fact, her flaws might be what sets her apart from girls like Tori, who is very pretty and fun to be around, but doesn't have any flaws that I've seen yet. Cat's inability to stay concentrated on a single task makes life interesting, and it's better than having someone who doesn't know how to have fun. Plus the way she never allows the world to get her down makes my day every time I see her. She maybe kinda bipolar, or ditzy, but to me, it's a good thing. It makes her human, and after all, everyone is human. Everyone but Jade that is.

With all these happy thought bouncing around in my head, I decide to just let the chips fall where they may today. Why let how I feel about Cat affect how I act around everyone? I shouldn't, I need to enjoy life.

I walk into school with a bounce in my step that I haven't had in a long time. I turn in my project to my psychology teacher (psychology, and I'm crazy, how ironic) and a couple of people compliment me on the play from this weekend.

By the time I get into Sikowitz's room I'm walking on clouds. I notice Tori and Andre looking at me discreetly, then look away quickly, talking happily with slight smiles on their faces. Beck and Jade are too engrossed in each other, but I'm cool with that.

As Cat bounces in happily I get a text.

_What's up with you today? You are really happy, not that it's a bad thing lol-Tori_

I respond,_ Just thinking about everything optimistically_

Cat and the school's gossip queen, Jessica are talking. Suddenly I hear Jessica bring up a topic that chills my blood.

"What happened the other day in ABC improv?"

I see Beck, Andre and Jade glance anxiously at the two chatty girls. Tori simply had her eyes closed, in retrospect I probably should of done the same thing.

"I'm still not exactly sure." Cat said nervously, voice a little higher than usual.

"You and Robbie?" She pushed, obviously looking for some juicy details she knew she wouldn't be able to extract from me.

"Oh, I said that I don't like him." Cat said simply.

_And the sky just fell in. Clouds obscure the sun, whole 9 yards._

And yet Jessica kept digging.

"You don't? Why not? He's a very nice guy." She said, lacing every word with sarcastic venom.

"He's not all that cute, funny or talented." Cat piped up.

_Just get out of here. You've heard enough for a lifetime from her._

I stood up and simply walked out, right past Sikowitz and all my confused classmates with the exception of Jade, Andre, Tori and Beck, who all looked stunned at the newest revelations.

I don't know where on earth I'm going, I just know I'm better there than being at school.

Beck POV

OMG, she just keeps piling it on doesn't she? I turn to Jade, who looks like a Martian just walked into the room. Complete disbelief.

I immediately send out a mass text. "Might be time to chase after Robbie when we get out of here."

(Responses are italicized)

Jade- K _Love you_

Andre-Where to start tho? _U know where he lives?_

Tori- You mean ditch school? _Yes, you need to do it at some point._

Sikowitz has been talking for about 10 minutes and I haven't caught one word he's said. Speaking of oblivious, Cat seems not to have noticed Robbie's absence. She has been like me, absorbed in her phone.

Robbie POV

On I-5, speeding back home. My Uncle Travis invited me over a few weeks back, and I'm going to call him and say that school is out this week and that I want to come spend some time with him and baby Lizzie.

I'm still dying inside, which is why Taylor Swift's Teardrops on My Guitar is playing on my stereo. Taylor Swift is fine and all, but I seem to listen to her only when I'm in shock after Cat has done her thing.

I get home, and am very relieved to see my mom decided to go to work today instead of working from home today. I quickly go to my room and grab my big suitcase, packing a week's worth of clothes, including some for the next Monday, since it is a holiday.

As I go to my car, I notice both my mom and dad forgot their phones, right next to each other in the foyer. They can be so forgetful sometimes. I smile to myself, and it feels like my face might break in half.

I put my bag in the trunk, along with my backpack. After getting into the car, I quickly send a text to my parents saying I'm at Travis's, that I need to deal with some stuff, that I'm fine and that I love them.

I pull out of the driveway mournfully, wishing I wasn't doing this. I don't see any other option though, I can't just let this pattern continue.

Beck POV

Man, Sikowitz took forever. Now Jade's with me, and Tori and Andre are trailing in Andre's car. Our first idea is to check Robbie's house, to see if we can coax him out and try to calm him down. I still can't believe what Cat said though, she sounded so spoiled and stuck up, which isn't Cat normally. Robbie's house isn't that far away, but he isn't there.

We stop shortly afterward, brainstorming on possible safe havens for Robbie. Tori remembers that Robbie likes the beach, so that's our next move.

Robbie POV

Songs have such a deeper meaning when your in a similar mood to what the song is don't they? The Goo Goo Dolls song, Iris just played, talk about pretty.

I'm at a stoplight, when I see a familiar car pull up to my left. Crap, it's Beck. Right behind them is Andre accompanied by Tori. No doubt they are going to follow me.

Beck POV

Robbie! What a stroke of luck, he's in the next lane over! Wow! Jade is motioning to Robbie to take a left at his next chance and I motion to Andre and Tori, but they too noticed that Robbie's so close. I don't care what I have to do to keep up with him if he tries to escape. I've evaded police before, I can certainly keep up with a good boy.

Nobody's POV

The light turns green. Robbie hits the accelerator first, pulling out ahead of Beck. Beck quickly follows but sees out of the corner of his eye a white blur racing through the intersection. He quickly hits the brakes, narrowly avoiding the speeding vehicle. Robbie, who is reaching for his phone to call his uncle, doesn't see it until it is right on top of him. He barely has time to register it before the Cadillac SUV plows right into Robbie's car, sending him rolling into a lightpole.


	8. Waiting

Beck POV

I am not good at waiting. A lot of my family and friends say that I'm "A man of action". Jade calls it instead "never wanting to get bored". Either way, I hate waiting, and the purpose of the ER's waiting room is to wait.

Not that what's been going on has been boring. I mean, my good friend who keeps getting his heart busted into a million pieces (figurative of course) just got hit by a SUV and for all I know might be in a million pieces. After he got hit we all called 911, and the ambulance got there quicker than I expected. Some lady who saw it all helped Andre stop his head from bleeding out while we waited. But then, things changed when we got to the hospital. Andre went home to tell his parents what happened, then stop at Tori's and inform them as well.

Tori walked in first, and wanted information immediately. The lady at the nurse's station said "I'm sorry, we don't have a medical release file on hand for a Robbie Shapiro, so unless you can prove you are related, I can't tell you anything."

Tori simply blew up. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T TELL ME ANYTHING?"

She kept on for a few minutes, and quickly stopped when Robbie's parents got there. They were immediately rushed back to an area we couldn't see.

Jade and I tried to stay calm. Jade kept pacing and muttering something about the "injustice" of the world. I fiddled around on my phone for what seemed like forever.

Andre walked in about 30 minutes after Robbie's parents got here. He said that both his grandmother and Tori's parents were stunned at the sudden news, and would be over soon.

News has been slowly filtering out. Sikowitz and Lane stopped by to ask if we knew anything. Both looked like they were shell shocked. Tori asked Sikowitz about that and he simply replied. "Robbie is so reliable, so dependable and is never sick. I still am waiting for someone to come up behind me and say "April Fools!".

Still waiting. I've exhausted just about every App on my pearphone, and there isn't a end in sight.

Suddenly, a idea goes off in my head. Something to vent my frustrations. Cat. She needs to know what happened.

I touch her icon, and wait as the dial tone starts. After 2-3 rings a perky voice answers.

"Hello?"

"Cat, you need to get to the hospital."

"Why? I'm at the park with Michael."

"To hell with Michael, get here now!" I growl into the mouthpiece.

"No need to say dirty words Beck! What's going on?" She sounds full of concern.

"There's been an accident."

She apparently thought that was good enough, because when I removed my face from the speaker, my screensaver stared right back at me.

"Why'd you call her?" Tori asked.

"Wouldn't we be just getting out of school right now?" I respond.

"Yeah." Andre told me.

"Well, she's why he left in the first place."

"Yeah—"

"SHHH!" I tell everyone. A nurse just walked by and I heard what I didn't want to.

_Yeah, he's in OR now, emerg surg and transfusion, 2 broken extrem._

Unless that's someone else, and I doubt it, that would classify as bad news.

"What was that for?" Andre asked, as Tori and Jade glared at me.

"The nurse was talking and she said something about the OR, emergency surgery, blood transfusion and something broken."

Tori leaned back, as Jade looked exhausted and Andre groaned audibly.

"Great…"

"That sounds like a car accident alright, but it might be—" Tori reasoned.

"Cat's here!" Andre said quickly, cutting Tori off. "Sorry." He apologized.

Jade motioned for her to come over, where the four of us were in corner of the mostly vacant room.

"Hey, what's up? Where did you guys go at lunch?" Cat asked happily.

"Driving." Jade simply said.

"Why?"

"Because Robbie left." Andre spoke up.

"What was up with that by the way?" Cat asked innocently.

_Ok, I've had enough. She needs to hear the truth. I don't care how much it hurts or makes her cry._

"Because you said that he's not talented, cute or funny!" I exclaimed, causing the nurse to make a reproachful noise.

"How did you hear that? I was talking to Jessica…" She trailed off.

"The entire room heard you Cat! Robbie was 5 feet away, that's why he left!" I yelled again.

Shock immediately registered on Cat's face, quickly followed by tears in her eyes.

"Wait….so he heard me say that?" She whispered.

"Yeah, what's been up with you sweetie?" Andre asked, moving closer to her.

"Nothing, I've just been trying to live up to Michael and be a good girlfriend too."

"Well, there's the problem." Tori said, looking to me and Jade.

"Why are you trying to live up to Michael?" Jade asked sweetly.

"He was reluctant to go out with me…he said I was too nice." Cat said, refusing to look up from her glittery shoes.

"There isn't such a thing as too nice Cat." I said, messing with her hair. She moved her eyes up to look at me, but quickly looked right back down.

"Where is Robbie anyway?" She said after a moment of silence from everyone.

"Somewhere back there." I said, motioning to the double doors that Robbie was behind somewhere.

"What do you mean? Is he ok?" She squeaked, looking at Tori and Jade.

Between the four of us, we struggle through what happened after we left Sikowitz's room. Jade couldn't talk and Tori started crying when she got to when we saw him to our right. Cat's expression steadily went from concern to practical despair. Afterward, all she could do was hold her head in her hands, shaking it in amazement.

"Is he going to be alright?" She asked, voice shaking from tears about to fall.

"I don't know."


	9. Visitors

The only noise I can hear right now in the white walled place is me sucking the remnants of my Inside Out shake. Tori and Andre went out on a walk and Jade is bargaining with her parents to stay with me tonight. I guess "bargaining" is putting it nicely, since she's arguing with them in a slightly raised voice. Usually I would make nice, but her parents don't believe that Robbie got in a accident.

Cat has by far been the quietest person here. She's mainly just looked at her shoes and softly cried. Andre was smart enough to go buy tissues from Mall-Mart before coming back with dinner.

"Should I break up with Michael?" Cat piped up, looking at me with shining eyes.

_Oh man, what do I say…I want her to be happy with Robbie, but she's happy with Michael, and he's a nice enough guy…_

"Uh…"I mumble.

"I feel like this is my fault." She cried, diving at me for a hug. She said something when she cried into my shoulder, but I have no idea what it was.

After she calmed down a little bit I continued again. "Cat, this isn't your fault, the driver is in a lot of trouble for running that light. This might of happened anyway."

"But he wouldn't of left."

"That isn't the point." Andre said, coming up behind her, gently grabbing her shoulders as Tori smiled behind her.

"You didn't actually hit him, so it's not your fault." Tori said reassuringly.

Suddenly Jade hung up and quickly walked towards us.

"Behind you." She said.

I turn to see what it was, only to find Robbie's parents right behind me.

"Whoa!" I quickly recompose myself. "Mr. Shapiro?" I ask.

"Yes son, I assume you are a friend of Robbie's?" He said in a professional voice. He is still dressed in a full suit and tie.

"Yes, any news?" I ask as Jade, Andre, Tori and Cat all position their chairs to listen to them.

"Yes, Robbie is out of surgery for a broken arm and rib, and needed a blood transfusion from all the blood loss."

Cat made a strangled noise that sounded like a sob and a cry simultaneously.

Robbie's mother turned to her. "Are you Cat?"

"Yes Mrs. Shapiro. I am—"

Cat found herself cut off by Mrs. Shapiro hugging her.

"Is he ok?" Tori seized the momentary silence.

"Yes, we arranged with the doctor for you all to see him if you would like."

Everyone looked thrilled beyond words. I felt very relieved, _He is going to be alright._ The words rushed through me quickly.

"When?" I managed to keep my voice calm despite my urge to fist pump.

"Whenever your ready son." Mr. Shapiro said.

"Any idea where Robbie was going?" Andre asked as the Shapiro's started back toward their car.

"Yes, he sent a text message saying he was going to his Uncle's." Mrs. Shapiro said.

We all know why, asking would be a waste of everyone's time. Meanwhile, the Shapiro's waved goodbye and proceeded to their car.

A nurse asked us if we were ready to see him.

"Cat, can you stay here?" I asked out of nowhere.

Jade nudged me pointedly. "What are you doing?" She harshly whispered.

"Yeah…you guys see him, I'll be fine here." Cat said flatly as she messed around with Mr. Longneck, her stuffed giraffe Andre got her from home.

The nurse accompanied Tori, Jade, Andre and I through the double doors and led us to a room in the far back.

She motioned for us to enter as she kept walking to another room. I entered last, taking a deep breath.

I walked in, not expecting him to BE AWAKE! But there he was, flipping through channels on the little TV.

"Guys! How are you?" He exclaimed, moving to hug someone, but restrained by a machine that dripped water.

"How are we? That's not important Robbie." Tori said sternly, but smiled as she hugged him gently.

"You scared us to death Robster." Andre said.

"Did that Cadillac hit me head on?" He asked.

"Yeah, how do you know it was a Cadillac?" Jade asked, concern evident.

"I barely same the logo before everything blacked out."

"Your parents said something about a broken arm and rib?" I asked, breaking my silence.

"Yeah…I got lucky, could have been a lot worse." He said, motioning to a gigantic bandage on his head which I hadn't noticed until now.

"Dude, that's huge." Tori said, stating the obvious.

"It's not like it hurts or anything." He explained. We all gave him a "YOU GOT HIT BY A CAR,WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT DOESN'T HURT?" look.

Robbie grabbing a piece of plastic attached to the machine dripping water. "Morphine."

"Isn't that a bit strong?" I asked.

"I can only use it 5 times an hour." "So I can't get addicted." Answering Andre's unspoken question.

Everyone was quiet for a moment. "Why your uncle's?" Jade asked finally.

"I don't know… he just had a daughter and I haven't seen her and he called a few weeks ago saying he wants me to meets my new niece." Robbie explained.

Tori and Jade smiled warmly at the mention of the baby.

"Does Cat know?" Robbie asked.

"Yeah, she's waiting outside." I told him.

"Ok." He said simply.

"You want to see her?" Jade asked sweetly. Her tone surprised Robbie.

"Yeah, but—"

"You mad at her?" Andre asked, causing Tori to punch him in the shoulder. "OW! Easy woman!" He yelled.

"Not really, but that might be the morphine talking." He smiled, and we all returned it.

"Hey, glad your still in one piece man." Andre said, leaning towards the door. Tori motioned the same way, but came back to hug him again. Jade proceeded to do the same, adding "See you later Curly Sue."

"I am not Curly Sue!" He said emphatically as Jade smiled deviously.

I fist bumped him, then followed Jade out.

Cat POV

Mr. Longneck….why can't you tell me why clouds are white… Wait! Beck and Tori are back!

"How is he?" I ask, hopping out of my chair, that I have been despising for about an hour now.

"He's in a good mood." Beck explained.

_Please say I can see him, Please say I can see him, Please say I can see him…_

"You want to see him?" Tori asked.

"YAY!" I said happily. Andre chuckled from behind Tori.

"I guess that's a yes." Jade said sarcastically.

"Did Michael drop you off, or did you drive?" Beck asked.

"He dropped me off." I told him, not wanting to say Michael's name. For some reason, I feel sick slightly when I say his name.

"Ok, I'll come and pick you up after you talk to him, you cool with that?" Beck asked again.

"Yeah.." I trailed off, suddenly getting apprehensive.

_What if he doesn't want to see me? He probably is mad at me. I already know he doesn't like me dating Michael…_

While I was lost in thought Jade and everyone proceeded to leave. I guess I have to face this alone.

I nervously walked up to the desk. "Can I see Robbie Shapiro please?" I asked, smiling best I could through my feeling of impending despair.

She smiled brightly. "Of course sweetie, c'mon." She said, walking through the big double doors I saw Jade, Beck, Andre and Tori glance at repeatedly while we were waiting.

We walked for what seemed like forever. Hallway after hallway, lots of hurt and sick people. I don't like hospitals, I had to go to the hospital when my Granddad was sick. He didn't come out.

Finally, she pointed to a door. "Here you go sweetie, call if you need anything!" She said cheerily.

_Deep breaths. You don't need to break down in front of him. But this all happened because of you. He's probably going to hate me. Oh, let's just get this over with! _I thought angrily, opening the door.

Oh man, all the big machines. This isn't good. _Why Cat why?_

"Cat?" Robbie asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Robbie…" I managed to say, before I almost sobbed audibly.

"Hey, come over here so I can hug you girl." He said reassuringly.

I walked over and he pulled me into a weak hug by Robbie standards. I really like his strong hugs, I feel safe.

"How are you feeling?" I quietly say.

"Sore." He understated.

"You got hit by a SUV and flipped your car." I said bluntly. His eyes widen noticeably.

"My car flipped?" He asked demandingly.

"Yeah…did nobody say that?" I ask quietly, hoping I didn't say something I shouldn't have. I do that from time to time, and it really causes for some awkward moments.

"The doctors and Mom and Dad didn't mention the car flipping, but it explains my head." He said, motioning to the huge bandage on his head.

"Robbie, I'm so sorry…" I squeak out, before I start crying.

"Hey…Cat?" He said, touching my wrist. I look up, tears still flowing.

"Please don't cry… this isn't your fault. Please?" he asked. His voice, plus the fact he said that seem to instantly stop the tears.

"It is my fault, if I hadn't said all that mean stuff…"

"You can't think like that Cat. I might have been here anyway. The driver of the SUV hit me, you didn't." He said, wiping the tears off my cheeks.

"I'm sorry about the way I've been acting around you Robbie. It's just—"

"Cat, you're fine ok sweetie?" he said firmly.

"But ever since I started going out with Michael and the improv I have been so spoiled and stuck up and—" I cut myself off.

_No Cat, that's a dirty word. Why did Jade say that word when we got stuck in traffic the other day? It's been bouncing around in my head ever since the waiting room…_

"You ok?" Robbie asked. He's really good at asking the perfect question at the right time.

"Yeah…do you think I should break up with Michael?" I quietly asked him.

Something flickered across his face, but I didn't have time to really register it.

"No, if your happy with him, you shouldn't break up with him." He said.

"But, I've been so mean to you and you li—" I started.

"What I think about that doesn't matter. If your happy with him, you should keep going out with him. OW!" He yelled, quickly retreating to his pillow.

"What's wrong? Are you hurt?" I quickly said, getting to my feet.

"Yeah, stupid morphine won't move and the IV yanked on the inside of my arm." He explained.

I see a remote with a red button attached to the stand Robbie is messing with. I discreetly reach over and grab the remote.

We both are quiet for a minute.

"You tired?" I ask, thinking he needs his sleep.

"Not really, I was out for a few hours." He said nonchalantly, absentmindedly flinching at the pain in his arm.

"You need the nurse for a painkiller?" I ask.

"No, the painkiller makes things really bright and I can't think." He said, his eyes closed.

I quietly scooted closer to him, and moved the remote to my hand, covering it with both hands.

I pressed the button 4 times, and the clear liquid rushed down into his arm through the IV. I want to give him some peace, but I leave one more shot of morphine if he needs it.

He smiles gently at me. "It's nice to see you."

"Nice to see you too." I say, as he starts to drift off. I stay in the same position as he begins to lightly snore.

I stand up quietly, not wanting to wake him up. "Sometimes you gotta let your friends step in and take care of things for a while…" I say, rubbing his hair as I lightly kiss his cheek.

I turn the lights off as I walk out.

_What you say always matters Robbie…_

(A/N: Does anybody know the show or scene that inspired the Cat-Robbie interaction with the morphine? Love all you guys for the encouragement-James)


	10. Goodwill

Everyone always looked at him weird every time he had him on his hand. Whenever Robbie just had say something, he had him say it in place of Robbie himself.

Rex. Most people thought of him as only a puppet. To me, he's a lifelong friend. I found Rex in the theater in the 7th grade back when I didn't know where I wanted to go with Entertainment. But after finding Rex, I found my niche, acting. Until now, where I've discovered writing suits me pretty well too. Tori, Jade, Beck, Andre and Cat only know the mean side of Rex. I see his unrelenting support, his loyalty, his patience to hear my travails even when it bores him to tears (even though puppets can't cry.)

People always say that I'm a ventriloquist, just using Rex as an outlet or medium for my more controversial thoughts.

But, like all good times, things and ideas, his time has come. I'm driving for the first time since the accident, with the brace on my wrist. Driving to goodwill, to say goodbye to Rex.

I came to the conclusion that he was better off with someone who used him rather than me, because of two things. One, I hadn't taken him to school or used him in about 3 weeks. Secondly, the role of mentor had been given to the quartet of Beck, Jade, Tori and Andre. So, in fewer words, I don't need him anymore.

The voice that comes out is mine anyway. He was my voice when I had no self confidence, no self-esteem. Now my friends gave me that confidence, and with the optimism of talking to cat gave me, I'm fully ready to turn a new page and start a new chapter in my life.

Finally at goodwill. I proceed to the donations area and hand my friend over, saying that he's in good shape, and that they (Goodwill) could keep the proceeds, I don't need them. When I'm walking out I feel oddly relieved, like I just told someone very mean off.

The accident gave me a lot of new opportunities. Firstly, I got a new car (YES!) since the driver was proven to be at fault (wasn't hard to prove since she ran a red light) and I got a red Scion. Weird, I know, but it's new, which is better than my other options. Sorry, got off on a tangent. I got a new thought process. Looking back, I way overreacted. Yeah, it was a terrible thing to say, but I could of toughed it out. I let Jessica get to me, it was obviously a attempt to provoke me, and it worked. But I also realized how reliable my friends really are. I can't ask for anything better for someone as flawed as me, and I can't thank them enough for how they hung around in the waiting room for hours just to find out if I was ok. I can't imagine how horrible it was to see my car get hammered by that SUV. I hope I never have to.

Speaking of my friends, Tori's slow version of "Make it Shine". I hadn't heard it in FOREVER, so that made it that much more awesome. Man, that girl has a wonderful singing voice. I remember I was in the audience for her debut to the world. She looked so scared and out of her element. But whenever she and Andre sped up the song, she got into it and sung her way onto the path of superstardom.

Back at home now, and I can finally check my email. My parents have been keeping a sharp eye on me veer since I got out. They weren't happy with me, but they understood, or at least they said. My inbox is full of "Get well Soon Robbie" messages. Jade sent an E-Card with that message composed entirely of scissors. Too sharp for my liking, but it's the thought that counts. Tori simply passed on her parents get well wishes for me along with her own and Trina's. Beck simply sent a song that summed the same thing up. Cat, however took the cupcake. She sent a colorful, obviously handcrafted card with a gigantic bunny in the middle of the screen that when you click on it said "Get better soon Robbie!" in Cat's peppy voice. It came with an email that explained that no, she didn't do all that herself, but she did create the background and bunny. Her "Friend" animated it and attached her voice.

What a talented girl. Did I mention I still love her? Or is it that obvious. Oh well, Michael will move by the wayside eventually.


	11. The List

Ok, s it's 7:15 in the morning and I've already learned something new. Hollywood Arts is really quiet. Yeah, I can hear from here "IT'S 7:15 IN THE MORNING!"

Why am I here so early? I came to show my bright shining face, complete with wrist brace to all my teachers and Ms. Clarke, proving that I made it through my accident. I never thought I would want Monday to come.

Things with the teachers went well, Lane seemed exceedingly relieved to see me, but I plan on not being called into his office again. The only teacher I haven't seen is Sikow—

CRASH!

"Hey buddy, watch where your going! You almost made me spill my coconut latte!"

"Sorry Sikowitz." I said, smiling at the sight of a coconut latte. I didn't even know they existed.

"HEY! Your not broken! Or dead! That's good!"

"Yeah." I smiled, laughing quietly.

"Nice seeing you….ooh, that tastes so good!" Sikowitz said, walking away.

I can see Beck, Jade and Tori looking up at a poster on the wall near the stairs.

"Hey guys" I said.

"Shhh! Do you see me?" Tori said, waving me off and looking up at the poster.

The poster said "The List of 2011"

_Oh Great, The List._

The list is a list of students that go to Hollywood Arts determined by popularity. The seniors on Student Council decide the list. There's only one rule generally. Once it's been published, you can't do anything to change that year's list. So if you get in last, you have to wait till next year hoping you move up one spot.

Tori's cheering derails my train of thought.

"Yay! I can't believe it!"

"There has to be some mistake." Jade said darkly.

I look at the board. # 2 is Tori Vega.

"No mistakes Ms. West. We don't make mistakes…" Trina said, walking by haughtily. How she got on Student Council, I don't know. All I do know is that there nearly was a riot when she was announced.

I looked closer at the board, not seeing Beck's name.

"Where are you Beck?" I vocalized my thoughts.

"Keep looking." He said smugly.

I scan the list again. Beck Oliver. # 1.

"Whoa! Congrats man!" I said happily, raising my hand for a high five. He halfheartedly returns the high five, but seems happy.

Jade, on the other hand, seems to be getting madder. I look at the board, and find her name, # 48.

"48 isn't that bad."

"But my boyfriend is # 1! I should be higher."

I raised my hands, anticipating her to try to hit me.

"Ok then." I say, now searching for my name.

"Whatcha looking at?" Cat said suddenly, appearing at my elbow and smiling as usual.

"They released "The List"." I explained. She practically jumped away from me and close to Tori.

"What's the big deal?" Andre asked behind Tori, reading over her shoulder.

"They releas—" Beck began, but was cut off.

"9! Yes!" Andre yelled happily.

"Nice." I said, still looking for my name. I've read 2/3 of the list of 129.

"That's good luck you know." He said matter of factly.

"How?" Tori asked, keenly interested.

"The Beatles held the top 2 spots on the billboard top 100 for 9 consecutive weeks, the longest reign ever."

"Wow, that's 2 months." I murmured.

"And 1 week." Jade said darkly. I turn to see her smirking darkly. I don't like that smirk.

"Oooh!" Cat said suddenly, causing me to jump.

"What?" I said, irritated. I STILL haven't found my name.

"I'm number 4! Cupcakes!" She squeaked happily.

_Cupcakes?_

"What do cupcakes have to do with your ranking?" Jade asked.

"You can fit 4 cupcakes on a row in a little baking pan. Aren't we playing a game?" She asked, confused.

"No?" I said.

"But Andre said a random fact about his number; I thought we were playing a game." She said innocently, eyes shining.

"We aren't playing a game." Tori said, as my mood darken significantly. I found MY number.

"What's you number Robbie?" Cat asked me.

"128."

Jade laughed, as Beck looked back darkly. Tori's jaw dropped and Cat hugged me so fast I couldn't react.

"What's so funny?" I said, closing my arms around Cat, who was saying something, no idea what though.

"You might as well be last, considering Sinjin is last." She said, holding herself up because she was laughing so hard.

"Jade!" Tori said loudly.

"What? The truth hurts sometimes." She reasoned.

"I don't like your truth." I said, walking towards my first period. I can't wait for Sikowitz, Monday's are always exciting.

Before I knew it, I was sitting in Sikowitz's room. Or black box. Whatever, you get the point.

Tori and Jade were arguing about something, I have no clue what it is about; they were at it when they were walking in the room. Poor Beck, he was next to Jade when they were walking in, looking practically homicidal.

"They. Are. CRAZY." He said, sitting in front of me.

"Women." I said, leaving the rest of my thought hanging.

"Hey Robbie!" Cat said, pulling a chair a few feet away right next to mine and sat down.

"Hey Cat." I said, glancing in Jade and Tori's direction, who for some reason sat right next to each other.

Sikowitz came in and started giving us directions. The audition times for the new play were going to be posted at the end of school today. And our assignment was to come up with a scene to present with a partner tomorrow in class.

I let my mind drift, thinking about possibilities for the scene.

Someone just poked me in the side. No surprise who though.

"Having fun?" I said smiling as Cat poked my ribs, laughing.

"Hehehe." She giggled, starting to poke harder.

"Cat, easy, that's the—" I start, before a sharp pain shot through me like electricity.

_Side that has my BROKEN rib._

"OW!" I yell loudly. Cat cowered in fright out of surprise.

"What's up man?" Andre asked, looking concerned.

"Cat poked my broken rib." I said matter of factly.

I turned to Cat, who looked like a little girl who got caught trying to sneak a cookie.

"I'm sorry. Do you still want to work with me?" She said, in a quiet voice. I barely heard her and I'm two feet away from her.

_I didn't know we were working together. Fine with me though._

"Sure, what were you thinking?"

"Thinking what?" She asked, eyes wide.

"What kind of scene we should do?" I responded.

"Umm..how about a scene that involves…" She started.

"Involves?"

"Riiiing!"

_Stupid bell._

Everyone filed out of the room and rushed to lunch, where today was 1/2 off everything day. Cat didn't bring Michael, she didn't even show up. All Beck and Tori did was question me about what we talked about in class.

So now I'm back home, and overall it was a good day. Jade was looking at me kind of weird though, wonder what that is—

_Buzz, Buzz_

1 new message-Cat (Response in italics)

Hey,u busy/

_No, whats up?_

Can you give me a ride?

_Sure, where?_

Michael's, my mom can't take me

My immediate reaction is no. But then again, what kind of guy would I be if I denied my friend a chance to see her boyfriend?

_Sure, be there in 10 minutes._

Thx!

I gathered up my keys, and started off to Cat's house.

_What are you thinking Robbie? Denying cat a chance to see Michael, you might be a jerk after all! At least you caved, saved you some awkward explanations and you can look her in the eye now._

Wow, I'm here already. Guess the music and my thoughts made the road move pretty quickly. That reminds me, I need to talk to Cat about our skit for class tomorrow.

Knock,Knock.

Cat's smiling face is at my window, knocking on the glass for me to let her in. I press the unlock button and the lock clicks softly.

"Thanks Robbie!" She said, energetically.

"Anytime. So where to?" I asked innocently.

"It's near Tori's. I can get you there if you drive to her place." She said, staring at the clouds outside of the window.

We both sat in silence as I drove in the direction of Tori's house.

"Do I look good in this?" She blurted out quickly, looks like she wasn't sure about her outfit.

I pulled up to a stoplight and glanced in Cat's direction. She was wearing a silvery dress that stopped a bit above her knee and was slightly low cut. Personally, I say she looked perfect.

"Um, you look great." I say, redirecting my attention on the road as I felt a blush creep up my face. Unfortunately, the light was still red.

"How are you feeling?" She asked innocently, but very quietly. I barely heard her over the A/C.

"I feel fine, thanks. You doing ok? You seem quiet, or more like…afraid." I asked.

"Yeah, I'm good! Thanks for asking Robbie, you are always so nice to me." She said dreamily.

"No problem Cat, anytime." I responded.

Again, we soon sunk into another comfortable silence. I occasionally snuck a glance at Cat, as she messed around with the arm rest and what I put in the compartment in the door. She looked so innocent, so unaffected by the world.

"Take a left here." She said, as I turned near Tori's. I obliged with the turn. A Taylor Swift song came my pear pod's shuffle.

"This is a good song." She said, smiling softly as the music's tempo increased.

"This is it." She said, unlocking her seatbelt.

"You need a ride back?" I asked as she stepped out of the car.

"No, but thanks for the offer Robbie!" She said, shutting the door. I pulled out again, my next sentence hanging on my tongue.

"Anytime." I said quietly.


	12. Drive and Dine

Another day, another stoplight. Driving definitely loses its luster after awhile. Something is different about this stoplight, this trip. Different, but similar to what I've been doing more frequently recently.

"He he." Cat giggled randomly.

"What?" I asked, confused and hoping she isn't laughing at me.

"You forgot to take you sister's lip gloss and blush out of the compartment thingy again." She said, smiling shyly.

I sighed. I did forget. AGAIN.

"Put it back…" I sighed, thinking I really should set a reminder on my pearphone to put it back in Kimberly's room.

I heard the soft thud of the makeup hitting the compartment as I gently pressed the accelerator, taking the girl of my dreams where I didn't want her to go. To Michael's. Again. Her regular ride to Michael's, a childhood friend got a job and can't take her anymore. So now I chauffer her two or three times a week, including weekends.

"You ok? You look sad." She asked. I swear, sometimes it's like she knows what I'm thinking.

_Quick, gotta come up with a excuse she'll believe._

"I'm just worried about auditions for The Knight in Dull Armor." I aid, referencing the new play at Hollywood Arts. It is one of the rare times that they put on a comedy or satiric play.

"Don't worry Robbie, your audition was amazing, and you are naturally funny." She gushed. I could feel myself blush slightly. I hope she didn't notice.

"Thanks, how do you know how my audition went?" I asked, intrigued.

"I was behind the curtain." She replied. When they are doing auditions they put 7-8 people, excluding Sikowitz in the crowd behind a gigantic black curtain to judge a auditioner's potential and whether they would do well in the role.

"You were?" I asked, surprised.

"Yeah…I voted you to get the lead again." She smiled shyly.

_AWESOME!_

"Thanks Cat." I said simply, pulling up to Michael's house.

"Thank you Robbie!" She said, getting out of the car. I smiled as she shut the door and bounced towards the front door.

I pulled away, feeling my sadness intensify by the second. I feel like a bad person because all I want when ever I see her is to talk for a second, then part ways. But when I get that chance, I want more. I don't want to leave.

I am at a stoplight and pick out a favorite song of mine. Alligator Sky by Owl City. I'm happily bobbing my head when I hear my phone.

"I would of given you all of my heart…but there's someone who's torn it apart…" Drifted out.

"Hello?" I asked, knowing it's Cat's ringtone.

"How far away are you?" She asked, sounding kinda scared and unsure of herself.

"Less than 5 minutes away, is something wrong?" I asked, turning around as I spoke.

"Click." I heard.

_Oh crap._ I sped up to 20 mph above the speed limit; luckily there weren't any police cars.

I pulled up to Michael's, hopping out and searching for Cat. I looked everywhere I thought she could fit, but after about 10 minutes, I gave up. I was really getting worried, then remembered my phone was in the car. I could—

"AAAHHH!" I yelled, as Cat scared me by sitting on the concrete next to my door.

"What? What's wrong?" She asked, getting to her feet quickly.

"Nothing…you just scared me." I said, heart absolutely pounding in my chest.

Both of us got back into my car. "Why'd you call?" I asked.

"Michael isn't here yet. Can you stay here with me to keep me company?" She asked innocently, eyes pleading me to stay.

"Of course…" I said, drifting off, starting to get lost in her eyes.

"So. Truth or Dare?" She asked suddenly, snapping me out of my daydream.

"Uhh…" I sputtered. This game has caused me a lot of pain in my life.

"Do you not want to play?" She asked quickly. I swear she's a mind reader.

"No…I am just trying to choose." I said truthfully.

"Take your time." She said, settling into her seat.

After a moment I decided "Dare." Cat immediately sprung up with a smile on her face.

"I dare you to….stand up to Jade next time you see her." She said, happiness evident on her face.

"Cat! Do you want me to be in pain?" I asked, frightened.

"No, she isn't as tough as she acts like you know." She said innocently.

"Whatever you say…" I said, thinking of the many ways Jade would hurt me before Cat could stop her.

"Your turn." She said happily, looking straight ahead.

"Truth or dare?" I asked.

"Truth." She said flatly.

_She wants to tell me something._ The thought immediately leapt into my mind.

"Umm…why did you ask me to drive you here the first time?" I asked, giving into my curiosity.

Apparently, that wasn't the right question because her shoulders slumped visibly.

"Because I knew I could rely on you. Not many people always help me like you do Robbie…" She left her sentence hanging.

We played for another 20 minutes, Cat grew visibly more antsy as the time went by.

"You know what? I'm done waiting." She yelled suddenly after both of us had been quiet for a moment.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Let's go do something fun together Robbie. Michael hasn't gotten here yet, so why should I keep you away from having fun?" She said, refusing to look me in the face.

"Ok." I complied happily, pulling away from the curb and driving just to get away from his house.

"Where are we going?" She asked happily, looking around at our surroundings.

"I have no idea." I answered truthfully.

"Then why are we driving? Your wasting gas, and gas is expensive." Cat said, sounding worried that I was wasting money.

"Cat, don't worry about the gas. Money isn't something I have to worry about." I told her, trying to coax a smile out of her. She had been reserved ever since I asked the wrong question almost a half hour ago.

She stayed quiet for a minute, as I drove around aimlessly still.

"I got it!" She yelled, causing me to slam on the brakes. "AAAHH!" She yelled.

"What's wrong?" She asked, sounding the angriest I have ever heard her.

"Nothing, you scared me to death Cat." I told her, starting to move forward again.

"Oh, sorry." She said quickly, hugging my shoulder. "How about we go eat Palm Garden?" She asked me, back to her peppy self.

"Sounds awesome, as I turned around and headed towards Palm Garden.

After we got there and received our table, which is in a corner of the restaurant next to a window we started talking again. Cat was telling me a story about her brother getting sent to the hospital because he jumped off the roof of her house and onto their trampoline. I was kind of paying attention, but just enjoying my good fortune.

"Can we get the breadsticks? I love their breadsticks." Cat said randomly. I love their breadsticks too.

"As many as you want. Or can eat." I said, smiling.

We happily ordered. I got some steak and pasta thing, while Cat, to no surprise by me got the Salad and, drum roll please! Breadsticks. Anyone else and I would say how it isn't a very healthy meal, even with the salad, but since she's Cat and she can't weigh more than 90 lbs so she can eat whatever she wants.

I'm happily eating while listening to Cat talk more when I see something that chills my blood and makes me loses my appetite right then and there. Cat can't see it because of a beam conveniently placed in her line of vision. I can see Michael and some other girl perfectly and they are laughing happily while holding hands OVER the table.

_Poor Cat._

I feign interest in Cat's continued conversation as I pick at my food and try to get Michael and the new girl out of my head for Cat's innocent sake.

Suddenly, a large figure appears at her side. "Cat, what are you doing? Why is he here?" Michael asked darkly, stressing my name and giving me a dark look.

"Oh! Well, you weren't home and we waited around for awhile and eventually decided to come eat." Cat said sweetly, while gazing up at him with happy eyes.

"Oh, well I'm here now, let's go." He said darkly.

Ca hopped out of her chair. "Bye Robbie!" she said, smiling at Michael. They both walked out, Michael holding her hand all the way.

I pulled out my wallet to pay when Michael suddenly came back. "Yes?" I said with anger laced in.

"She forgot this." He said, showing her purse. "You better pay the bill you scummy bastard." He said, glaring at me.

I opened my mouth to retort before he started talking again. "If I ever see you two together outside your little school again, we're going to have a major problem. You picking up what I'm putting down?" he said, walking away.

I quickly paid and got out of there, fearing Captain Temper had slashed my tires or busted out a window or something. To my utmost relief, he didn't do anything.

My immediate thought was to go talk to Beck, being the lead on Operation Snatch Cat Back. But when I pulled up, Tori and Trina's car was parked in the driveway.

_Trina and Beck hate ach other, so why is Tori here? Where's Jade? Suspicious._

Many possibilities flew through my mind before I remembered I can't even solve my own love life, not decipher anyone else's.

Interesting though.


	13. Planning

"Now as you all can tell, that wasn't a very good job of method acting…" Sikowitz droned on, still attempting to teach us method acting. Most of the class was in a lazy stupor, while Jade remained focused on her phone, not even pretending to show interest in his lecture. Beck also was looking at his phone, typing away pointedly. I think something is going on between Jade, Beck and Tori because Jade and Tori have been very friendly lately and Beck and Jade appear to be fighting. Jade gives Beck a dirty look and types something. Beck types. Back and forth. All period.

Tori appears to be just trying to stay out of it. Makes my initial suspicion of seeing her at Beck's RV the other night pretty spot on huh?

Andre seems to be in and out of consciousness, drifting off, then jerking awake again due to his uncomfortable sleeping options. Cat on the other hand, appears to be the only person truly paying attention to the lesson. She is happily sitting up, although in a very awkward position, like she's shielding herself from something.

I take the opportunity to study Cat closer, because she is definitely consciously hiding something from view. Her outfit helps, Athletic shorts and a shirt with short sleeves. Cat is holding her arms very close to her legs with her elbows sticking out while crouched over. Usually Cat is very loose and relaxed, not a care it the world. That's the Cat I love hanging out with.

_Oh my god._ My thoughts race as I start hoping I didn't see what I just saw. Cat moved her sleeve up just a little bit.

It looks like she got hit really hard in the shoulder/arm area. From my angle, I can see most of her arm and a tiny bit of shoulder (nothing inappropriate of course). A majority of that area is pockmarked by what looks like bruises. Most of them are clustered together near her shoulder. I focus more on her petite frame. The more I look, I swear thee more the bruises leap out at me. So many, hidden by her sleeves, boots and clothes in general. The ones that worry me the most are the ones near her hips, left exposed when she subconsciously moved.

A million thoughts start racing through my mind. First of course is _Michael is going to die for doing this to Cat._ Then the doubt came. _Maybe they were…ugh I can't even think of her doing that, but still, bruising happens…_

I settle on talking to everyone later, I shoot off a text to Beck, Tori, Jade and Andre saying that, and also take pictures of the exposed bruises.

(Responses are in italics, as always!)

Can we meet up later somewhere? Need to talk to everyone

Beck-_Sure, where?_ IDK, your place or Tori's

Jade-_Ok, why? _

Andre-_K man_

Tori-_KK!_

Jade-_Not Vega's. _Quit creeping!

Beck-_Tori's, my place is messy. _Ok

Jade-_Why Tori's? Why not my place or something?_ I don't want to go to your house.

I turned to face Jade, and was met with a glare that could melt all the Fro-Yo in the world.

The rest of the day I just kinda went through the motions, pretending to act interested, but all I could think about was the impending meeting at Tori's later.

Just when I decided I couldn't take it anymore, the final bell rang, and I quickly hopped in my car and bought Fro-Yo for everyone. This was not going to be an easy conversation and I wanted everyone to chill out beforehand.

Just pulled up to Tori's.

_Knock, Knock_

Andre wrenched open the door with an angry look on his face. "Oh good, it's you. We just had to fight off a couple of Squirrel Scouts demanding we buy a refrigerator." He explained.

"A Refrigerator?" I asked walking in, surprised. I thought they only sold cookies.

"Yeah, they even brought it with 'em." Beck said, closing the door. Jade was spread out on the couch.

"What's in the bag?" She asked, referencing to the bag draped over my shoulder.

I pulled out her container of Fro-You and a spoon. Her face lit up happily, unlike I had ever seen before.

"Oooh Fro-Yo!" Andre said, reaching for the bag I had set on the table.

"Thanks Robbie!" Jade said, as Beck nodded assent.

Tori came downstairs, saw that everyone had Fro-You out and immediately rushed for the bag where her Fro-Yo sat waiting for her.

"Smart move Robbie, now what's up?" Tori said after devouring some of her treat.

"Well….first, let me show you this." I said, pulling up the pictures I took of Cat in class.

Tori gasped and pulled the phone closer.

"Tori!" Jade yelled angrily.

Andre snatched it from her, displaying it for he, Jade and Beck while Tori seems flabbergasted.

"No way." Andre said after a moment.

"Do you know where this asshole lives?" Jade spat, getting to her feet.

"Yes, but—" I started.

"Then less talking more ass kicking!" Beck said, moving towards the door.

"Wait! Cat dressed to cover up all those bruises." I said.

"Yeah, what's your point." Tori said, not looking pleased.

"I don't think we should just go beat Michael to a bloody pulp yet. She didn't tell us. It would seem suspicious if we beat him up." I reasoned.

"Your logic is pissing me off." Jade said bluntly.

"I don't like it either, but we have to get Cat to tell us." Andre responded.

"What's the second thing?" Beck questioned.

I explained what happened at dinner a couple of nights ago, including the encounter with Michael.

"Why are you against knocking the crap out of this douche bag again?" Jade exclaimed, very upset that all this had happened.

"I'm not, but it's about timing." I explained.

"If we went barging in there, Cat would suspect us and distance herself from us, even if Michael is hurting her. And we all want Cat to get with Robbie right?" Andre said.

"Right." Beck and Tori said simultaneously. Jade was silent. Beck and I glared at her.

"Hey, I don't think she should be dating anyone after this jerk." She said.

"But if she had to date someone." Beck asked politely.

"…Maybe. But you better keep your hands OFF HER." She said pointedly.

I nodded, as Tori threw away everyone's Fro-Yo cups.

"Should we try to get Cat to talk to us?" Beck asked.

"I'd like to talk to her first, I'm supposed to drive her to Michael's tomorrow." I explained.

"Wait, your DRIVING HER? Why?" Tori shouted.

"I thought when I said I drove her to Michael's you understood I have been doing it for a while." I defended myself while referencing the story.

"You didn't say it specifically." Jade said, as Beck shook his head.

"What?" I asked Beck.

"You're working against your own cause. I don't get it." He said.

"What's to get?" Tori responded.

"He's trying to be a reliable friend and show that she can rely on him." Jade defended me.

"Therefore, making the possibility of them dating more likely." Andre finished.

"I don't like it." Tori said huffily.

"Tough." Jade said, glaring at her. Apparently their silent argument isn't finished.

"Hate to wrap it up, but my parents have guests at 7." Tori said, standing up.

"Ok, I'll talk to Cat tomorrow and see if I can coax it out of her." I said, standing at the door.

"Sounds like a plan." Andre said.


	14. Let's Talk

The next day went by pretty quickly. Beck pulled me aside and asked that I be nice, not pushy about the issue, since she didn't originally tell us. I got texts from Jade and Tori wishing me luck, and to keep them in the loop. Andre was oddly absent, but he did give me a reassuring nod when I glanced at him in Sikowitz's class.

Speaking of Sikowitz's, I might have lucked into quite an opportunity. Cat asked me to take her straight from school to Michael's. So if I don't get her to talk about it, we can send in reinforcements. If that doesn't work, we are going straight to Michael.

One other note on Cat, today she was oddly detached from everyone in class and at lunch. Usually, she's always bouncing around. Everything was a lot quieter, kinda like she wasn't even there. Whenever she is gone it isn't a good day. Everything just seems a bit more depressing and serious. It's like she's my ray of sunshine.

The passenger door opens, and Cat hops into the passenger seat opposite me as I was waiting for the traffic to file out of the parking lot.

"Hey Cat." I said.

"Hey Robbie!" She said perkily, reaching across for a hug. I gently hugged her back, not wanting to hurt her.

"What's wrong?" She asked after I let go.

_Well, my best friend is getting whacked around like a rag doll and is dating another guy._

"Nothing, why do you ask?" I responded, lying through my teeth.

"Whenever you hug me it's nice and tight, and it's reassuring. But this time you barely touched me. I like your normal hugs." She rambled.

I felt myself going red after her statement. I liked it, knowing that I made her feel a little better.

"Oh, thanks." I said, smiling as I finally got to pull out of the parking lot.

We both sat in silence for a while._ Now or never._ I thought, throwing caution to the wind.

"How are you?" I threw out, heart pounding.

_C'mon…_

Silence.

"I'm ok. Just tired, not sleeping well." She finally told me.

"So you're fine?" I asked, pushing for an indication that something was wrong. I would work from there.

She hesitated for a moment before responding. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"Well, you've been kinda quiet lately, just worrying about you." I responded, realizing that my chance had come and gone without her giving me a window to pry the information out of her.

We drove the rest of the way mostly in silence, occasionally making small talk. She still remained detached and out of sync.

I pulled up to Michael's house entirely too quickly. The only thing that I could think of was "This has to end NOW."

"Thanks Robbie!" Cat said happily, exiting the car, straightening out her clothes as she stood up. As she adjusted her shirt I saw an ugly purple mark on her shoulder that quickly was covered up.

I pulled about 50 feet away from Michael's house, out of sight from Michael's. I pulled out my phone and sent the text I didn't want to.

She didn't talk. Who's up next?

I drove back to my house in silence, the smell of the perfume Cat sprayed right before she got out everywhere. Strawberries. Typical Cat. That was exactly what Caterina Valentine hasn't been over the last couple of days. I pondered what would go down if Cat talk to one of us. I can't seem to fathom why she didn't tell anyone before this, especially me. I have done my damndest to be an amazing and reliable friend, and she didn't do anything. Normally, I would be mad, but this isn't about me, this is about her well being.

Once home, I collapsed on my bed, checking my phone. Apparently beck, Tori, Andre and Jade had already decided that Jade would talk to Cat next since they were the closest to her out of all of us. Also, Cat told Jade that she would be back home about 8:30, so Beck would take Jade to talk to Cat wait for Jade's word if she's getting anywhere. Lastly, Andre and Beck asked for Michael's address, saying if she didn't talk, the three of us would confront Michael.

An eternity passed between 3:30 and 8:30. I tried to occupy myself by helping my mom out around the house, catching up with family and even doing my homework early. All I succeeded in doing was being a good boy and it seemed no time passed.

Finally, 8:30 came to pass. I checked my phone just about every minute, anxiously awaiting any news. I just want to do SOMETHING. Just some kind of information.

8:49 1 new message-Jade. I quickly pressed the screen to read it.

_She's talking. It's worse than we all feared. Apparently the jackass tried to force himself on her and she managed to get him off. A majority of it's because she's been standing up to him about getting together. She showed me some of the bruising, really bad. She's crying her eyes out and wants everyone to come over. Her parents are gone all week and she's afraid Michael's going to come over._

Quickly, another text comes in.

_Beck- call me, setting up a three way w/ Andre._

I dialed his number, and he answered on the second ring.

"Good, you called, thank god." Beck said.

"What's the plan?" Andre asked, already on the line.

"I say we give Michael a piece of our mind. You in Robbie?" Beck asked.

"You know I am." I responded.

"When?" Andre asked.

"Now is as good as ever." Beck said, sounding angry.

"I'm down, be there in 10." Andre said.

"Wait!" I yelled.

"Don't tell me your backing out Robbie; otherwise I'm stopping by your place first." Beck groaned.

"No, I was going to say if we all pulled up front, he would get suspicious. There's a spot one house up that is blind from his house. How about we meet there?" I informed them.

"Sounds perfect." Andre said.

"Meet you there. Beck said, then hug up. Andre quickly did the same.

I hopped into my car after disregarding my parents' questions about my going out so late. I simply said "A friend of mine needs me, and I'm going to be there for them."

"Is it the girl you were talking about earlier?" My dad asked, standing up from his seat next to the TV.

"Yes." I responded, looking him dead in the eye.

My mom made a move to protest, but my dad cut her off. "Good man. Good luck, no curfew tonight." He told me, then sat back down.

I turned my stereo up really loud. Louder than I've ever had it before. I'm half afraid I'm going to blow out the speakers. First up is Britney, who said something that's appropriate for the situation

"Isn't she Lucky, this Hollywood girl? She is so Lucky, but why does she cry? If there is nothing missing in her life. Then why do tears come at night?"

Next was Written in the Stars, the perfect song to get me pumped up to beat Michael to a pulp, which is exactly what I want to do.

As I pulled off the highway I got some glances from the cars around me. I'm guessing it is because of the music. One thing is certain; I'm not turning the volume down.

I pull up to the meeting spot, song still blaring. I check my phone. 1 new message from Jade.

_Where are you?_

I stepped out of the car after the song concluded.

"You picked a good song." Beck said, dressed in a dark shirt and pants. Andre and I are dressed similarly.

"Let's do this." I said, stepping towards Michael's. Beck took the lead soon though, Andre to his left and I was to his right. Beck politely rang the doorbell as I mentally prepped myself.

After a minute or so, Michael finally opened the door. "Can I help you?" He said, looking at Beck, then turned his gaze to me. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Yes, you can help us. Can we come in really quickly? Don't want to waste all that conditioned air." Andre said as Michael allowed us inside. The three of us stood close to the door.

"So what's up? I remember you two from the park. Where are the two other girls?" Michael said bluntly.

"They're with Cat." Beck said.

"Why?"

"You know why." I spat, not holding back an ounce of my distaste for him.

"No, please explain." Michael innocently said. Andre and Beck seemed to get really mad once he said that.

"Cat talked to MY girlfriend and said you have done some pretty bad stuff to her." Beck said.

"That still doesn't explain why you are here." He said flatly.

"Well, the three of us are really protective of Cat. We don't want her to get her heart broken." Beck said.

"Or anything else." Andre added. A look of understanding crossed Michael's face.

"Oh." Was all he said.

"We all care deeply about her, and you messed with two guys that love her like a sister and one that just loves her." Beck said, stepping forward.

"Which one of you loves her?" He asked angrily, looking at Andre and I.

"I love Cat." I said confidently.

"You weak man. You loved her, but didn't have the courage or stones to tell her." Michael started.

_I've had enough of this, time to shut him up._

"She doesn't—"

"Whack!" I punched him straight up, sending him flying.

"Hey!" He yelled, getting up and beginning to charge, but was quickly rugby tackled by Andre. Beck joined in by standing him up and popping him across the face.

I took about 20 minutes, but we got our message across to him through his thick head. _Don't mess with Cat Valentine._ Beck took a couple of shots to the face and body along with some minor bruising, and Andre got pounded, diving into the island in the kitchen and getting hit in the face and body a few times along with bruising. I went out the worst though. It seemed like every time he went after me, he attacked harder. I got a few cuts along with a possibly broken nose and some bad bruises on my arms back.

As I walked back to my car, Beck and Andre pulled me to Beck's car. I was feeling a bit better despite the injuries.

"What?" I asked angrily, wanting to get to Cat's.

"We gotta clean you up, your nose is a mess. Cat would flip out." Andre said.

He and Beck spent the next 5 minutes wiping my face with those little towlettes and washcloths.

"Are we done?" I asked, after they stopped for a moment.

"Yes. Let's get to Cat's." Beck finally said. I quickly hopped into my car and followed Andre there, Beck hot on my heels.

We pulled up not long after, and Tori ran out to greet us. The three of us just barely got together before she yelled "Where have you been?"

"Michael's." Beck said nonchalantly.

"What happened to you guys? Did you already go beat him up?" Tori asked in a rush, examining Beck in a nurse like fashion.

"Yeah, where is she?" Andre asked.

"Inside, duh." Tori responded.

"Thanks, sorry about— OUCH! Easy!" Andre said, jumping away from Tori after she touched his wrist.

Beck, Tori, Andre walked in as I followed.

Jade popped her head around the stairs. "Finally, you're here. She's in her room."

Beck looked confused, looking downstairs for her bedroom.

"Follow me man." Andre said, leading him upstairs as I got a glass of water.

After downing 3 full glasses, I proceeded up the stairs. Cat's room was crowded with everyone in there, so I leaned against the doorframe. Cat had her face buried in Beck's shoulder. He winced as she cried, but didn't move.

"What happened to you guys?" Jade asked, looking from Andre to Beck then me, our injuries standing out against the light of her room. She looked happy, rather than angry that Cat was clinging to Beck. Normally she would have Beck on the other side of the country by now.

"We talked to Michael." Andre said.

"He did that?" She asked, wincing when she looked at me directly.

_I hope I don't look that bad._

"Yeah." Beck said as cat removed herself from him, looking at Andre and I. She was wearing the same clothes as when I dropped her off and had a look I had never seen before. It was sadness mixed with guilt.

"Um…" Cat spoke up, interrupting Andre as he started to speak.

"Go ahead Little Red." He said graciously.

Cat started her story with what happened with Michael. She started crying immediately, and had to stop multiple times, but finally muscled through it. The story made me feel a lot better that we had already taken care of Michael.

"Thanks for being here,(hiccup) I don't want to be here alone tonight." Cat finally ended.

"No problem." Jade spoke up.

"I was supposed to clean up the living room and basement today, but—" Cat started.

"Don't worry about that." Beck said, pulling her in for a hug.

"Beck, your really hurt." Cat said urgently, as I headed downstairs. The others continued to talk, but I decided to go take care of the cleaning rather than stand in on the conversation.

The basement looked bad, but it seemed like it had an order to it. I sorted papers with papers, sports equipment and other stuff like laundry together by the washer and dryer.

"Hey man." Andre said behind me just as I finished tidying up.

"Hey." I responded.

"Having fun?" He asked sarcastically.

"Just making myself busy, rather than just lean against the doorframe."

"She's going to love you once she sees this, you know that?"

"I haven't done the living room yet." I smiled.

"She's worried about you, she asked if she had said something wrong once she noticed you left." He told me.

"When'd she notice?" I asked out of curiosity.

"About 20 minutes after I noticed you left." He told me, not really telling me anything at all.

"I'm gonna start upstairs man, thanks again." I said, proceeding up the stairs.

I finished the living room and walked around until about 1 AM, when I walked back inside and saw Beck, Andre and Tori collapsed in the newly clean living room.

I grabbed yet another glass of water and stood by the window in the foyer.

"Robbie?" a small voice asked.

I turned slightly to see Cat in her pajamas, standing by the entrance. I smiled, and she walked towards me.

"Can you give me a real hug?" She asked. I pulled her close as I felt more tears hit me shirt.

"Hey, don't cry. You're safe. Nothing is going to happen to you." I told her, lifting her chin up.

"I'm really really sorry about not telling you Robbie. You specifically asked me today in the car and I don't know why I didn't tell you…I—"

"It's ok, I'm glad you told Jade. I wish you would of told us when this all started." I told her.

We talked for awhile, and she leaned more and more on the doorframe similar to how I did earlier. Eventually she fell asleep standing there. I gently lifted her into my arms and took her into her room, dodging Jade's makeshift bed as I gently laid her down.

I ran my fingers through my hair, thinking of something to say, but nothing came to mind. I decided on moving a strand of hair away from her face then left her room.


	15. Fun day

THUD!

"Andre!" I heard someone yell.

I opened my eyes to find myself in a chair with my feet up on an ottoman with CAT spread out on me.

_Whoa…What is going on?_

"What's going on?" I asked as Beck, Tori, and Andre snickered.

"I'm sorry Robbie, I was going to fix your blanket, but Andre pushed me onto you. I didn't want to wake you up." Cat said sweetly, tears brimming in her eyes.

I glanced down at Cat's hand, which was holding a blanket. I don't remember getting a blanket or falling asleep at all.

"No problem, I needed to get up. You're fine." I said, covering her hand with mine. Also I saw Beck and Tori exchange a smug look.

"Thanks Robbie." Cat said, not moving her hand.

"What time is it anyway?" I asked, shielding my eyes from the incoming sunlight.

"It's 8. The four of us aren't going in today. We have better things to do." Beck said, motioning his eyes to Cat.

_He wants to get Michael completely out of her mind today._

"Cool, I don't really want to go either. Where's Jade?" I asked.

"Sleeping." Tori said quickly. I noticed she had different clothes on while I still had last night's clothes on.

"We went home and grabbed some clean clothes." Andre answered my thought.

"I'll go do that now I guess." I said. "What about Jade?"

"Already have her covered; she has some stuff over at the RV." Beck responded.

I rose, removing my hand from Cat's, softly squeezing it as I stood up.

"Be back in 20 minutes." I said, exiting the house.

I drove home much happier than I ought to be. Andre pushed her and my impulsive move to hold her hand worked.

Great…both of my parents are home. Not what I wanted. I walk in expecting them to yell at me for not being at school.

"Hey sweetie, how'd it go?" My mom asked as I walked in the door.

I looked at her, shocked and surprised. I was expecting to be asked why on earth I wasn't in school.

"That bad huh?" She said.

"How are you doing son?" My dad asked, looking genuinely concerned.

"Ok." I finally say. "Cat's boyfriend broke up with her and my friends from school came and stayed with her overnight since her parents are gone."

My mom looked happy beyond belief. My dad shook my hand.

"Cat's a girl right? The red head?" He asked.

"Yeah." I replied.

"Good man, you need to stay over again tonight?" He asked me.

"Maybe, I don't exactly know yet."

"Well, if you think you should go ahead, you're a good man and friend son, I'm very proud of you." He said, eyes twinkling.

"Thanks dad." I said, smiling as I walked into my room. After showering and changing clothes I discreetly packed a second set of clothes and my swimsuit into my backpack.

After bidding my parents farewell I quickly drove back to Cat's.

"Sorry I'm late." I said to the group, who had their backs turned to me, intent on fixing breakfast. Immediately I noticed Jade is not a morning person. Her hair was disheveled and she didn't have any makeup on.

_She looks amazing._

"Morning Robbie." Jade said happily.

"Hey Jade." I said, slightly at a loss for words.

She smiled slightly then walked by me.

"Breakfast!" Cat said happily. Everyone converged on the table quickly.

"Looks awesome Cat." Beck said, as Andre and Tori nodded assent. Jade was in the process of making her eggs disappear in record time.

Cat, who was on my right smiled, but her eyes looked distant still.

"Nice job Cat" I said, giving her a soft smile. Her eyes immediately came back into focus, as she looked at me. She blushed slightly as she glanced at me, and then started to eat.

While we were eating I saw everyone except Cat give me a small smile or a wink and a look. I can tell they like how Cat's reacting to me.

After everyone finished I gathered up everyone's dishes and started washing them.

"Hey, are we just going to hang out all day?" Tori asked.

"Can we do something fun? Pleaaaassseeee?" Cat asked, pouty face in full effect.

"Sure, what do you want to do?" Beck said.

"Yay!" Thanks Beck!" She said, raising her arms in triumph. Jade and Andre started laughing.

"What's so funny?" Cat asked, darting her eyes to me.

"You!" Tori said, smiling happily.

"Oh…..OK!"

"Seriously, what are we doing today?" Andre asked.

"Well, it's starting to get hot and I don't want to do something boring or lame so I was thinking Typhoon Harbor." Beck said. Jade moved beside him and kissed his cheek. Tori didn't look pleased.

"Isn't Typhoon Harbor that gigantic waterpark south of downtown?" Tori asked, pointedly looking at Jade. Jade, however didn't see her.

"Yes it is." Beck said suavely, looking at Jade.

"Sounds good, I'll need to get my swimsuit." Andre said.

"Can you drop me off at my place? Trina took my car." Tori asked.

"Didn't you park it right beside mine?" I asked, surprised.

"Yeah, I looked just a second ago and it was backing towards the street." She explained.

"What if it was a car thief?" Beck asked calmly.

"Fully insured." Tori shrugged, walking towards the door with Andre.

"Hey Robbie, how about you get a head start to Typhoon Harbor. We'll meet you there." Jade said, distracted.

"Ok, see you guys there." I said.

Behind me, Cat asked "Hey, who am I riding with?"

I shut the door before I heard a response.

_Beck and Jade want me out of there….Why?_

Instinctively, I check my phone to see if my parents messaged me. 1 new message.

_Beck- Rob, can you plz check what movies are playing tonight at the Cineplex? Meet you at Typhoon Harbor, promise man._

Ok, so they want me to see what movies are playing so after Typhoon Harbor we eat then go there.

The drive to the Cineplex is my favorite drive of the week. I'm a big movie guy, so I usually go there once or twice a week. I haven't been there yet and the new romantic comedy, Marriage Counselors just came out. I text Jade, Tori, Andre and Beck our options and started heading towards Typhoon Harbor.

Once I'm there I buy my ticket and change into my swimsuit. I decide to scout out the rides, and much to my happiness, there is a HUGE new slide that is calling my name. The line isn't very long and I consider taking this baby for a spin, but decide against it.

As I'm walking back towards the entrance I hear my name called. I turn to see everyone walking towards me, clad in their swimwear.

"We ready to have some water park fun?" Tori asked, obviously excited.

"Yeah girl, let's hit this park!" Andre said as Cat squealed and ran to catch up with Jade and Beck, who took off in a dead sprint after Tori and Andre, who stole their towels.

After warming up on a couple of individual slides and a canoe run, we made our way to the huge slide. Tori, Cat and Jade are visibly frightened at its height.

"Who wants to go first?" Beck asked smugly.

"I'll go!" I volunteered, quickly heading for the starting point.

"Robbie!" Cat yelled at the top of her lungs, attempting to stop me from sliding. The others made attempts to stop her.

I jumped for the slide, as Cat's fingernails scraped my wrist. I barely noticed, the slide is very disorienting.

However, at the bottom, I had to get a bandage since Cat caused me to bleed. Soon after I got the bandage Cat came running down the ramp coming from the slide, and I heard muffled yelling from inside.

"Yaaaaahhhooooooo!"

Cat immediately tacked me and held me tight, carefully avoiding my bruised back.

Andre and Jade were close behind Cat.

"Have fun?" Andre asked me.

"You know it!" I said, smiling.

Beck and Tori came up behind me, laughing their heads off.

"Now THAT is a ride!" Beck said.

"You guys have to do it." Tori said emphatically. We all trudged back up to the top, Jade and Beck took the plunge, then Andre and Tori did the same. Now it was just Cat and me.

"C'mon, you can do it." I smiled at her.

"No, absolutely not." She said.

"Cat…please?"

"No, you shouldn't have done it the first time. Your back is all cut and bruised." She told me, looking very displeased.

"Fine…then I guess you're coming with me then." I said, pulling her into my arms and not letting go and then jumping into the slide.

"Robbie, no, don't Robbie!" She yelled as we started to pick up speed.

"Yeah baby!"

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

Cat held onto me for dear life, as I enjoyed the quick turns in the dark of the tunnels of the slide.

Once we reached the end, Cat seemed to be enjoying it. Not that she wasn't mad of course.

"If you ever do that again, I'm biting you." She said within earshot of Jade and Beck, who glanced back at her.

I'm pretty sure she liked it because she went down that ride 4 more times. The first couple of times she only would go with me, causing the others to smile knowingly. I simply rolled my eyes. Then Jade miraculously convinced her to slide down with her, then doing it by herself, something everyone except the two of them didn't believe.

At about 5 o'clock we all decided to go get dinner at a restaurant named Flame On! which is known for their Chinese barbeque. The food was delicious, but I'm starting to wonder if Beck and Jade were pulling my leg about the movie.

"Hey Cat, want to go catch a movie?" Tori asked.

"Sure! What are we seeing?" Cat asked happily.

"I heard that Marriage Counselors came out last week, we could go see that?" Beck interjected.

"KK, I heard it's really funny!" She piped up, smiling happily.

"To the Cineplex!" Jade said in a loud voice, taking off towards Beck's car. Cat was hot on her heels, while Tori, Andre, Beck and I were looking on, amused.

"You picked a good girl." Beck said, putting his hand on my shoulder.

"Huh? Oh….yeah. Thanks." I managed to get out.

"You have basically aced the "Keep Cat happy Te—" Tori started.

We all started running towards Cat and Jade, who had just been approached by He Who Must Not Be Named.

"Hey!" Beck yelled as He, Andre and I separated ourselves from Tori and were picking up speed running towards Michael.

Michael instinctively took 2-3 steps back.

"Yeah, a couple more steps would be nicer." Jade said darkly.

"Go away, nobody wants you here dude." Andre said.

"I'm talking to Cat; the rest of you can go away." Michael said, staring down Beck.

"No, you're not." I said, stepping in between him and Cat.

Tori and Jade were quietly pulling Cat aside in case this got ugly.

"Says you, Curly Sue?" He said, trying to provoke me. I simply rolled my eyes and stood my ground.

"Michael, go away. You and Cat are finished." Beck told him.

Michael took a step forward. "No, and I'm not going to let you, Andre or Curly Sue push us apart."

"Then we're going to escort you to your car." Andre told him, grabbing his wrist.

I took the lead, walking towards Michael's car. Next thing I knew I was airborne, then slammed into the door of a SUV.

"AHH!"

"Robbie!" Tori, Cat and Jade simultaneously yelled.

Beck and Andre yanked him off of me and pinned him against the car and started pounding him.

After a moment, they stopped and pinned him against the same door I was sitting next to. My head was spinning and my back was killing me because I hit the handle of the door.

"I'm going to have you arrested for Assault!" Michael cried out after he was flush against the door.

"Yeah. Then we'd counter with the same, plus Sexual Assault and Attempted Rape." Beck said angrily. Michael went white as a sheet.

"You know how much each of those costs to defend? And then there's the sentence!" Tori added from the side, holding Cat back from rushing towards us. They were having a hard time restraining her.

"Ok, I won't press charges." He breathed, as Andre kept him pinned against the car door.

"Hope we don't you asshole." I said, managing to stand up on my own.

"I'm going to give you until the count of 10. I want you in your car, ready to drive off. Got it?" Beck said, getting _thisclose _to his face.

Andre let go of him and he SPRINTED to his car. By the time Beck and Andre got to 7, he was out of the parking lot.

"You ok?" Andre and Beck asked, gingerly clapping my on the shoulder.

"Yeah." I winced slightly as I straightened up and started walking towards my car. Beck motioned for everyone to start heading towards the Cineplex.

Man, he really hurt me this time. My back is shooting pain about halfway up. Sitting isn't too bad, glad we're going to see a movie.

_Crap, Cat's probably gone emotionally. She is probably blaming herself for Michael tackling me. Hopefully she's not too frantic._

I hop out of my car and walk a few feet to the ticket stand. I go ahead and buy 6 tickets to Marriage Counselors that start at 8:30, which about 20 minutes from now.

"How do you get everywhere so fast Robbie?" Tori asked incredulously.

"I don't know, I just drive." I responded.

"You already bought the tickets?" Jade asked.

"Yeah." Andre and Beck looked dejected.

"I'm going to get snacks, who's coming with?" Beck asked the group at large.

"Me!" Tori said, practically jumping towards Beck. Jade and Andre walked towards Beck.

"I'll go grab a seat." I volunteered.

I turned and started walking towards the theater. I heard quiet footsteps behind me.

The theater is a ghost town since we're 20 minutes early. I grab a seat in the back, directly in the middle of the screen.

"Hey Robbie." Cat said quietly, who sat down to my left.

"Hey Cat, you ok?" I asked.

"Yeah…how are you feeling?" She said quietly.

"I'm better, thanks for asking." I smiled.

"Sorry about Michael. He hurt you really bad. Do you want to go home and lie down?" She asked, eyes shining again.

"Cat, I'm fine. You don't have to say sorry for what Michael did. It's his fault." I told her, smiling.

"But he hurt you really bad." She said, voice shaking as she laid her head onto my shoulder. The smell of Strawberries floated over me.

"I'm fine, if I was hurt, I'd tell someone." I reassured her.

Cat entwined her hand with mine. I immediately felt myself blushing.

_Thank goodness for theaters being dark._

I looked around, since the others should have gotten their stuff by now. The movie is going to start any minute.

After a moment of searching, I spot the 4 of them sitting clear on the other side of the theater chatting amicably.

"Robbie?" Cat asked quietly, her breath hot against my neck.

"Cat." I responded, smiling.

"Can you do me a favor?"

"Anything."

"You think you could stay with me tonight? I'm still afraid Michael's going to come and…" She said, starting to cry silently. Her tears fell quickly and my heart sunk.

"Hey, he isn't going to hurt you. I won't let him. I don't care what I have to do. He won't put a finger on you, promise." I said, looking at her.

"Eeep." She said, still sobbing, but hugging me tightly.

I held her tight until the movie started. She grabbed my hand and didn't let go the entire time. The movie was hilarious, as Cat said. She eventually cheered up a bit, getting her smile back, but still looked a little lost.

She finally relinquished me when the credits rolled. We met the others near the entrance of the theater.

"Did you guys like it?" Beck immediately asked.

"Yeah, it was really funny." Cat said happily.

"You guys going tomorrow?" I asked curiously.

"Maybe, jury's still out." Jade said, as she and Beck broke off towards Beck's car.

"Night you two." Tori said, smiling.

"Night Robbie, Night Cat!" Andre yelled.

I looked at her. "Aren't you supposed to be riding with Jade and Beck?"

"I said that you'd take me home." She told me, snuggling into my side.

"Text?"

"Uh huh."

"You are really smart." I said, smiling.

A/N: Sorry about the long delay, I'm on the other side of the country and I can only work on stories a little bit every day. More to come soon though!


	16. Movie Night

"_Thanks for doing this Robbie." Cat said, as we entered her house._

"_No problem." _

_I looked around her house. Even though I've only been inside once, I feel relaxed and at ease. Normally I'm just trying not to break anything._

"_Where did you parents go?" I asked._

"_Acapulco."_

"_Cool." I said lamely._

_Both of us were silent for a long time. Eventually she headed to her room and I got out my laptop and started messing around on the internet._

_After about 30 minutes Cat came into the room, looking very uncomfortable._

"_Umm." She mumbled._

"_You ok?" I asked._

_Her eyes were glued to the floor. I stood up and walked over to her._

"_Cat?"_

_She looked up slightly. "You want some ice for your back?"_

"_I'm ok, are you sore?" I responded, voicing my concern about her bruises for the first time._

"_Yeah…" She said quietly._

_I grabbed a flex Ice pack and wrapped it in a dish towel. _

"_Here… that should help."_

"_Thanks Robbie…" She said sleepily._

"_Night Cat." I said, smiling._

_She nodded, then walked back up the stairs. I turned back towards the foyer._

"_Man, I had a real opportunity to make her feel better. But I blew it. Good going Robbie." I thought, sipping my water._

"_Robbie?" Cat asked behind me._

"_Yeah?"_

"_I had fun tonight. Thank You."_

_I looked over at her, taking in her nightshirt that had a cupcake on it and smiled softly. "Anytime, hope you're feeling better about things."_

"_Do you think we could do it again next week?" She asked._

_My mind immediately jumped to when she stood me up after saying she'd meet me at my house._

"_You mean go to the movies?"_

"_Uh huh." She said nervously._

"_Sure." I said. She smiled but didn't walk away. She just stood there looking like she was teetering on the edge of a cliff._

"_You sure you're ok?" I asked again._

_Whatever it was about that sentence convinced her to come over briskly and bury her head into my shoulder. All I could think of was rub her back and let her hug me._

_Finally she let go, but still looked apprehensive. I am completely clueless on why she's so sad._

_Cat opened her mouth once or twice, looking determined to say something. All that came out was "Uh…umm."_

_I smiled, trying hard to get her to say whatever she wants to say._

_She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Can you come upstairs and stay with me?"_

_She did not just say that…_

"_Sure." I said, moving towards the stairs. We walked up, and Cat seemed to perk up, or at least kinda relax._

"_I know I said it already, but thanks Robbie. I don't really feel safe alone right now."_

"_Ok, I'm here if you need me ok?" _

"_Thank you." She said, trudging off to her room._

That was about a week ago. Cat moved from house to house for the rest of the week until her parents got home. Since then Cat has gradually come back to her perky self and things have returned to a state of normalness.

Lucky for me, tonight is the first movie night we set up. We decided to go to the Cineplex and pick out a movie there. Currently I'm about to pull up to her house to pick her up.

The traffic was a nightmare, so I'm about 10 minutes late. I park next to the curb and briskly walk to the front door.

Knock, Knock….

"Robbie! Nice to see you! How are you?" Mrs. Valentine greeted me as she opened the door.

"I'm fine, thank you. How was your trip to Acapulco?" I asked.

"It was wonderful. You're so sweet." She gushed.

"Thank you ma'am." I said shyly. Cat's mom has a habit of laying the praise on thick.

"No problem, Cat's in her room."

"Thank you Mrs. Valentine." I said over my shoulder walking towards closed door.

I opened it to glimpse Cat fiddling with her phone with her earbuds in her ears. I quietly sneak up next to her and put my hands over her eyes.

"Eeep! Who is it?" She giggled, trying to move my hands. I kept my mouth shut.

"C'mon…please? She asked smiling still pulling on my hands. I suddenly moved my hands to her ribs and started tickling her. Feet and hands everywhere trying to stop me.

"Hahahah, Stop, plea-hehehe, STOP!" She yelled, trying to stop me, to no avail.

After a few more seconds of this I stopped and leaned back on her pillows.

"_Wow, these are soft pillows…"_

"Robbie!" She said, finally seeing me and coming to hug me.

"Hey Cat." I said smiling as I hugged her back.

"That was mean!" She exclaimed. "I didn't even know you were here!"

"Oh." I replied, smiling slightly.

"You're mean, meanie." She said, sticking her tongue out at me.

"Ok then, I guess I'll go see a movie by myself tonight…" I said, getting up off her bed.

"NO! She yelled, pulling me back down onto the bed but on top of her. Thank goodness her parents didn't walk in because it was a very compromising position. I tried to get off as quickly as possible to avoid that possibility, but Cat still held me tight and had wrapped her legs around me.

"Don't go! I want to go see a movie!" She begged.

I tried in vain to move again, to no avail. "Cat, let me go."

"Why?" She innocently asked.

"Please, just do it."

She frowned and released me. I scrambled off and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Why did you make me let you go?" She asked, looking like she was about to cry.

"Did you tell your parents about what happened with Michael?" I asked.

"Yeah, they're filing a police report tomorrow." She stated.

"Well, they'd get the wrong idea since they just found out about that and saw….that."

"Huh?" Was her reply.

_How do I put this gently…_

"If your parents saw that, they would think I was trying to take advantage of you."

_Please don't flip out, please don't flip out, please don't flip out…_

She considered what I said for a moment. "It's ok Robbie, I trust you."

_WHAT?_

"Umm…." I said, blushing worse than I ever have in my entire life.

"Let's get to the movies." She said, pulling her shoes on and heading towards the door.

"Bye Mommy!" Cat said, walking out the door as I waved to Mrs. Valentine.

We both climbed into the car and started off towards the Cineplex. Cat fiddled with the radio as I zoned out about what just happened.

_My mind is SPINNING. How on earth can she trust a guy that much after what happened with Michael?_

"Robbie?" Cat asked, snapping me from my thoughts.

"Huh?" I responded.

"I asked you if you know what we might be seeing." She asked.

I actually had a hunch on what she would want to see. Her favorite genre of movie is romantic comedy and lucky for her, The Art of Getting By was released a few days ago.

"Not really, but I heard that they released a good romantic comedy. I don't remember the name off the top of my head though." I said, looking ahead at the road.

"Can we go see that movie? Please, Please, Pleaseeee?" She begged, pulling on the sleeve of my shirt.

"Ok, what if you decide you want to see a different movie?"

"I'll just tell you." She replied.

"Good." I smiled. "We're here."

We both got out of my car and started towards the Cineplex. It doesn't look too crowded so we shouldn't have a problem getting seats. Cat is very excited, she's pulling my arm trying to get me to go faster.

"Come on! We aren't going to get good seats!" She said, dragging me along. The movie starts in 30 minutes so we're fine. Not that she knows that or anything…

"Now what is the name of that movie…?" She said as we reached the ticket booth.

"Found it. It's called the Art of Getting By." I told her.

Her face lit up with joy. "That sounds wonderful!" She said, giving me all the confidence in the world.

Cat was happily standing behind me as I bought the tickets.

"Two for The Art of Getting By please." I said.

"Sure, you guys look cute together." The lady smiled, printing the tickets.

"Excuse me Mrs.?"

"You are on a date right?" She asked.

"No…just here as friends." I said, smiling.

"Oh…enjoy the movie then." She said as I headed towards the doors.

"What was that about? You ok Robbie?" Cat asked as my head was spinning again.

_Robbie! That doesn't mean anything! People say that about Beck and Tori before Jade shows that Beck's her man._

"Nothing swe—Cat." I said.

_I am just trying to screw up aren't I! Sweetie? C'mon Robbie!_

Cat is looking at me with an odd face. Like she was studying my face for some sign that something is wrong.

We walked into the theater to find it empty except for a elderly couple in the third row. Cat and I sat again in the very back. We passed the time by playing game on my pearphone that you answer questions about an actor or actress and it didn't miss a single one.

"Wow, this thing is amazing." I said.

"I hate this app. How does it ALWAYS get it right?" Cat asked in annoyed amazement.

"I don't know, but we can prob—"

"Shhhhh! The movie's starting." She said, waving her hands in front of my face and smiling at the same time.

If I was reviewing the movie I would say it was….above average. The dynamic between Emma and Freddie was good, but the plot could have used some spicing up. But it was an interesting movie. Unlike last time, Cat was distant and silent the entire time. She just looked at the screen with a sad look on her face.

"That was a good movie." I said as we exited the theater.

Cat remained silent.

_Something's up…_

"Hey, what's wrong Cat?" I asked, prompting her to look at me distractedly.

"I…oh….umm…." she murmured, finally looking away.

"C'mon sunshine. Talk to me." I said, boldly calling her a nickname I just came up with one day.

"That movie reminded me of us." She quickly said, sneaking a glance at me.

_Same here. But I'm not almost flunking out of High School. And you're…Cat. I don't know, it doesn't quite add up._

"Ok, is that a bad thing?"

"Yes and No." She replied.

"That makes complete sense."

"Yes because the guy loved her, but the girl chose a guy that would be more accepted by her image. No because they were really close friends before he made his move."

"So the yes has already happened, and…" I said, not wanting to finish the sentence.

"Yeah." Cat finished for me. Both of us hopped into my car and drove back in relative quiet.

"Here we are." I said, pulling into Cat's driveway.

"Thanks Robbie." Cat simply said, but not moving or even unbuckling her seatbelt.

I let her take her time, but after a minute or two she still hadn't moved. Then, she sighed heavily.

"Did I say something?" I asked her, afraid I was about to make her cry.

"No, but that's not the problem." She said, staring at the floor.

"What is it then?"

"You never answered my question."

"What do you— oh." I said, remembering that she asked me what was wrong earlier and I blew her off. "I answered you."

"Nothing doesn't count. Something that lady said make you feel awkward. What did she say Robbie?" She asked, finishing in a girly voice.

"Cat."

"Robbie."

I glanced at her. She had a determined look on her face, like she wasn't going to let this one slide.

"She said…that we looked cute together."

"So?"

"She thought we were going out."

Cat closed her eyes and leaned back in her seat.

"That must have ended awkwardly." Cat said quietly.

"Yeah, I told her we were going as friends and she seemed surprised and just handed me the tickets."

"Robbie?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't think we should do this again." Cat said quietly.

_Oh god. Why?_

"Why?"

"The movie, the awkward conversations…I liked it, but…I just don't want to do it again."

"Well…ok then. Sorry it didn't work out." I said, feeling like I was breaking up with her, when actually she ruined the night.

She unbuckled herself and got out of the car. She then turned around and balanced herself on the top of the doorframe with her arms. "Why did you call me sunshine?" She asked, eyes shining.

"You always brighten my day." I said quietly, looking at the steering wheel.

"Ok, I like it. Night Robbie!" She said perkily.

"Night." I said, popping the car in reverse and pulling out of the driveway before she had even reached the front door.


	17. Blowing Up

How can you breathe with no Air? It's a good question, and I kinda liked the song before Chris Brown whacked Rihanna around. Aspiring singers and actors learned a valuable lesion that day. When you get arrested for assaulting your girlfriend, and your main audience is teenage girls, you might as well start looking for a normal job.

After last night, I drove around until at least 1, and then came home to find my parents wondering why I was out so late. After a BS explanation I retreated to my room only to toss and turn all night.

But back to the saying. As I'm sure everyone knows, I am madly in love with Cat. Heck, even aliens on a faraway planet are standing by a water cooler and saying "Hey, did you know that Robbie loves Cat?" "Duh. Everyone knows that." "Bzzzzt."

Man, I can't keep my mind focused on one thing today. Anyway, Cat seems to be my air, using the line as an analogy. All I want is to be with her. But she doesn't see me that way, and after last night things are probably going to change for the worse.

I didn't see anyone before Sikowitz and I'm right on time for a change.

"Hey guys." I greeted the others.

They gave me a collective "Hey Rob." and resumed their conversation. Shortly afterward, Cat walked in.

"Hi everyone! Hi Robbie!" She smiled specifically at me, then to the others.

_Crap, she's going to act like it never even happened. Or try to be extra nice._

"Hey Cat." I said quietly, looking to the front as Sikowitz emerged.

"OK! Since we're nearing the completion of another wonderful year here at Hollywood Arts I thought we would do something different today." Sikowitz said.

"What is it?" Beck said flatly.

"I'm going to let you talk amongst yourselves all period then tomorrow you are going to present what you talked about." Sikowitz explained.

On that note, we all joined our normal groups we talk to.

"This is weird, he always has us do something." Beck said, fiddling with his phone.

"Yeah…did you spike his coconut Jade?" Tori asked, eying her warily.

"No, if I did he'd be in the hospital."

_Never get on her bad side…wait. I already am. Crap._

"Ok…moving on." Andre said.

"How's the music coming Tori?" I asked.

"Ok I guess, I haven't really worked on it the last couple of weeks." She said.

"Why not?" Cat asked, sneaking a peek at me.

"Too busy." She said, looking around the room.

"Oh, ok!" Cat smiled, looking at me again.

"How about you Andre? DJ thing going anywhere?"

"Yeah, there's going to be a party this weekend. You guys can come if you want. I think you'd love it. Get away for a couple of hours." Andre said, last part clearly directed at me.

"Sounds awesome, thanks for the invite." Beck said, as Jade glanced from Cat to me.

_They've already caught on to how she's acting…_

"Where is it?" Tori asked.

"Not sure yet, I'll e-vite everyone once I know." Andre said.

"Man, does anybody know when school is actually letting out for the summer?" Beck asked exasperatedly.

"Nope." I said.

"I dunno." Andre said.

"Can't say that I do." Sinjin said, leaning into our conversation.

We all turned and looked at Sinjin. "He didn't ask you!" Tori said, waving him away.

"But nobody wants to be in my group."

"Who cares? We don't! Go play with your blow up doll or something.' Jade ordered. Sinjin quickly fled the scene.

"Jade! Why did you have to say blow up doll?" Beck asked, sounding tired.

"Well, no normal person will ever like him so I just threw it out there." She defended herself.

Cat seemed a bit spaced out. She nervously looked around and asked. "What's a blow up doll? Is it one of those things that you punch that's full of air? My brother had one of those once. It hit him in the face."

Jade, Tori, Andre, Beck and I all exchanged horrified looks.

_Who on Earth is going to break it to her? It's going to be such a horrible idea to her!_

Just as I started going through the possible candidates, sans me because I'd rather jump off the Golden Gate Bridge than tell her, Jade whispered in her ear.

"EWWW! That's so GROSS! Who does something like thattt? And how do you guys know what it is? You don't know what it is, do you Robbie?" Cat said, cringing.

"Uhhh…" I sputtered.

"It's just something you find out as you get older Cat." Tori dutifully explained.

"Why are you guys so GROSS?" She said, completely horrified.

"Cat, it's not like we asked around where we can find one." Andre said, clearly uncomfortable with the topic.

"You—Wha—EW! You guys are weird!" Cat said, covering her face with her hands.

"Hey, you're making way too much of this stuff Cat." I said, pulling her hands off her face. She looked at me like I was a creepy old guy on the street. "We don't want one, we just found out our own way."

She blinked and refocused on me. "So you guys just kind of found out accidently?"

"Exactly." Beck said, eager to divert the conversation.

"Oh, that must have been horrible!" Cat said, pulling Jade and I closer to her and hugging both of us.

"Riiiiing!"

"I expect awesome presentations tomorrow!" Sikowitz said as we gathered up or bags and headed to lunch. After going to the grub truck I met everyone back at our table.

We all munched on our food for a few minutes, not wanting to be the first to talk.

"What are going to tell the class tomorrow when we're supposed to present?" Beck asked.

"Maybe we should just—"

"Hey Cat! Come here! Lane wants to see you quickly." Some older guy called out. Cat stood up, gathered her stuff and headed towards the guy.

We all waved goodbye and she waved back, but smiled at me.

"Ok, what is going on with you guys now!" Beck asked quickly.

"Well, it all goes back to the last time we saw Michael." I started.

"Ok…" Tori said, leaning forward and disregarding her lunch.

"Remember how Cat told you" I looked at Jade and Beck "that I was going to take her home?"

"Yeah, I remember Jade offered to stay over again but she said she was ok." Beck said, slightly frowning.

"She did?" I asked.

"Yeah." Jade simply said, looking at me like I was stupid.

"Well, that isn't the whole story." I said, causing everyone to look at me in alarm.

"Well what is?" Andre said, looking concerned.

"I took her inside and we talked for a little while, but it was really awkward. She looked like she was falling asleep standing there so I let her go to bed. A few minutes later she came back down looking worried. She tried to say something a few times but couldn't."

"What do you mean couldn't?"

"She started saying something, but stopped or said uhh…" I answered.

"Ok, going on." Jade said.

"Well, the point of it is that I stayed at her house that night." I said, bracing for impact.

"YOU WHAT?" Jade exclaimed. "I'm going to—"

I stood up quickly, anticipating her trying to injure me.

"Don't say the k word jade. You don't want to go to ALC again." Beck said, restraining her.

"But he—" Jade said, then mouthing out "fucked" and then continued "her."

"I absolutely did not! I would never do that to her!"

"Well, you implied it!" Tori stepped in, sitting me back down.

"She asked me to stay over. She said that she didn't feel safe alone." I explained, glancing quickly at Jade.

"You could have said that when you explained why you were over there!" Andre said exasperatedly.

"Why did she ask you to stay but refuse Jade?" Beck asked to nobody in particular.

"So what DID happen?" Jade asked, still sounding furious.

"I don't know why she said no to Jade but she took me to her room and she explained why she felt so unsafe alone. We talked for a while then…." I said, chancing a glance at the others. "The next thing I remember is lying on Cat's bed."

"LIAR!" Jade exclaimed.

"You don't get context do you? I SAID ON! Not IN, ON."

"Oh." She simply said, looking down like she'd been scolded.

"You don't remember?" Tori questioned.

"No, I don't remember going to sleep the night before either. I have no idea how I ended up in that chair."

"We did that." Beck and Andre said simultaneously.

"You did?"

"It was like 3 in the morning and Tori kicked Beck in the jaw, which accidentally woke me up also." Andre said, as Tori blushed.

"We couldn't go back to sleep and found you on the porch asleep with your head against the house." Beck said. Jade and Tori giggled.

"Anyway… I have no idea how I ended up there but I think I fell asleep talking to her and she heaved me up onto her bed." I continued.

"Why do you think that?"

"She was curled up with her arms around me." I said. Tori and Andre's eyebrows arched as Beck wolf whistled.

"Yeah, yeah. That's not the end of it. Earlier on in the night she asked if we could go to the movies together sometime this week. Well, we went last night."

"Have you been doing anything else we don't know about?" Tori asked sarcastically.

"No."

"What movie did you go see?" Andre asked.

"The Art of Getting By."

"I heard that is really good." Jade said suddenly.

"Yeah, I think so too, but Cat thought the characters were too much like us, plus the conversation afterward didn't go so well." I said.

"Ok, anything else?" Beck asked.

"Yeah, when I dropped her at home she said she didn't want to do it again."

Everyone cringed. "Dude." Andre said.

"That's terrible!" Tori said, moving to hug me. I shrugged her off, not in the mood to be hugged. She backed up, looking worried.

"Is that why she's being so nice today?" Beck asked.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure it is."

"Did you get any sleep last night? You look exhausted." Jade asked, causing Beck and Tori to look at her questioningly.

"What? Look at him! It looks like he was up all night." Jade said, gesturing to me. The others peered at me, and nodded.

"Man, you do look tired." Andre said.

"Riiiiing!"

"Thanks for chatting guys." I said, appetite gone. I zoned out for the rest of the day, just looking forward to when I could go home and sleep.

Finally I got home and after speaking to my mom for about 5 minutes she let me go take a nap.

I had just closed my eyes when someone knocked on the front door very politely. I heard my mom walk to the door and open it.

"Jadelynn? Is that you?"


	18. Rekindled

_Oh Crap. What's she doing here?_

"Hi Mrs. Shapiro! Is Robbie home?" Jade asked cheerfully.

"Yeah, he's in his room. I can tell you if you would like." Mom replied.

_How did she find out my address? We moved since she was last over at my place._

"Yes please."

"It's on the left, 2 doors down. I'm going to dinner with Tyler. Make yourself at home sweetie! It's so nice to see you again!" Mom gushed, as I heard Jade walk in. Mom then exited the house and I heard the clinking of glasses. Then Jade's footsteps started coming closer…

"Knock, Knock."

"Come in!" I said.

Jade opened the door with two glasses of what looked to be peppy cola in her hands.

"Hey." Jade simply said.

"Hey." I replied.

"I like your new place." She sipped her drink, then set the other on my bedside table and pulled up a chair I had by the wall.

"Thanks…why are you here?" I asked.

Jade and I have a past. Remember the girl I told you about? The girl I liked that threw her crayons at me? That's Jade.

Back then we lived in the same neighborhood even though our families have almost nothing in common. I don't remember when I met Jade. Most of my early childhood memories involve Jade in some form or fashion.

The Jade I remember is perfectly captured in a photograph. It's of her and me. We're at the beach and it was a few weeks before everything went south. Her hair doesn't have any streaks and she doesn't have any tattoos. She's just a pretty brunette smiling at the camera with her arm around me.

We weren't the smartest or hardest working kids early on in school. We almost always sat in the back and never paid attention. We played tic-tac-toe or hangman or cards if she could hide them from the teacher. The only time we sat in the front was in gym. She loved moving, running, activity.

After school she almost always came over to my house. Usually we would watch TV and eat junk food loaded to the brim with too much sugar and fats. But that made us happy and that's all my parents wanted. Jade's parents were very regimented, her dad more so than her mother. I remember the day my parents told us that they were going to have house guests and that we couldn't hang out there after school. We simply assumed her parents would be like mine and let it slide. Nope. They scolded us for even thinking of eating all that junk food and booted us out side to run off all the calories. We walked to the park and she cried into my shoulder, saying how sorry she was and how much she hated her parents.

On the rare occasion her parents didn't book her weekend for her, she came and spent Friday night, all of Saturday and as much of Sunday as possible over at my place. Instead of lounging by the TV, we retreated to my room where I had an Xbox (right after it was released). We always played on it. Halo, Tony Hawk Pro Skater, Delta Storm. We wore those poor discs OUT. In a year and a half period we had to buy at least 3 copies of all those games, in Halo's case 5, simply because it was Halo. Jade is extremely competitive, probably because of her older brothers that all went to college on athletic scholarships. She always tried to beat me, and if she had her foot on my throat, she put me out of my misery. Then, again a trait she picked up from her brothers, she taunted me. I didn't really care. When it came right down to it, we were as close as two kids our age could possibly be.

Everything was good until 4th grade. I loved her. She felt like a sister, but we didn't fight. One time at a family event someone remarked "I think I'm going to be going to their wedding" and glanced at Jade and I. Then I started feeling more than just sister-ly feelings. It really started going downhill when I told her I was going to be going to another school. I told her she had the talent to go to the same school; she just had to convince her parents. She said I was abandoning her, and that she didn't care about me. I simply ran home, locked my door and cried all day and night. We tried to patch things up, but the final moment happened in art. The rumor had been going around that I liked her. We were across the table from each other.

"Robbie?"

"Yes Jade?"

"Have you heard this rumor going around?"

"No, but you shouldn't listen to rumors. Nothing good ever comes from them." I responded.

"They said that you like me. Like a girlfriend."

I froze. I had absolutely no idea what to say.

Eventually I settled on the truth. "Yes."

Next thing I knew, tears were flying down her adorable cheeks. She sobbed. "Then why are you leaving me Robbie? Why?" Then came the crayons. She had just gotten them a few days beforehand. They hit me square in the face as she ran out the door. The last days were awkward as we didn't speak. Then summer came and I was gone. The next summer we moved to our current house. At the start of that school year she walked in and enrolled on the first day. We had a couple of classes together and she immediately became friends with Cat and her gang of friends. I didn't talk to her up until 2 years ago and that's when I noticed that the happy Jade that I knew when we were kids had disappeared. I don't know why, but something changed her. She wasn't that way before I left.

"Well, after how things went today, I thought I should come talk to you." She told me, smiling slightly.

"Ok then, what's up?" I asked, very nervous.

"Well, I came to talk about a couple of things. First I wanted to talk about you and Cat."

"What about us?" I asked, reaching for the glass of peppy cola.

"I think you're doing the right thing."

"What do you mean?" I asked, befuddled.

"You're not being creepy or clingy. You accepted her request to give things some time."

I smiled shyly and picked at some invisible threads on my bedspread.

She sighed, moved her hair back and continued. "She really values your friendship Robbie. When Tori and I were the only ones at her house Tori was pacing around wondering where you guys were Cat told me about how you asked if she was ok and how she was doing. She said that nobody ever asked her that. I know, sounds sad, but she said since she's so upbeat, people assume she's alright. She said she couldn't imagine her without you somewhere in her life."

I gaped at her like a fish out of water. Finally I said. "She didn't say that."

Jade simply looked at me. "She did." One thing I learned about her when we were kids. Jade West doesn't lie.

I've always thought it was funny how my mom and dad call her Jadelynn, which is her actual name. She doesn't even allow her own parents to call her Jadelynn. My mom almost always calls her Jadelynn and my dad did whenever she was going home. She and my sister never really knew each other that much, but when Jade didn't come around anymore Kimberly asked me "Why isn't Jade around? You were always happy when she came over."

"The second thing I wanted to talk about we probably should have done a while ago." She said, looking down and messing with my comforter.

_Oh boy, here we go…_

"And that is…"

"Us."

I sighed and looked to her. She still had her eyes focused on the comforter.

"Ok." I simply said.

"I…. it's been such a long time. So much has changed. And here we are." Jade started. I simply looked at her; I was guessing she had something she wanted to say.

"First I want to say sorry about our last real conversation. I shouldn't have flipped out about that. I already knew you liked me, and if you remember I was starting to open up to the idea. But you were my best friend. You leaving meant that I had to fight for people that I hadn't given a thought in the world just to fill the void that was created when you left."

_I can't believe she's doing this._

"That's why I transferred to Bates, I couldn't take more than one year of torture being away from you. Then…I don't know…something was different. I don't know what it was but it kept me from talking to you. And when I finally gathered the strength you had picked up Rex and that freaked me out I'll admit." She said, smiling slightly, gauging my reaction.

"And it's never been the same." I finished for her.

She sniffled. "Well, I came to ask you if we could go back and be awesome friends again. I miss those days so much and things are going to get bad soon and I'm going to need somebody…" She said, starting to cry.

I rubbed the top of her hair as she sobbed into my comforter. "That sounds like a plan."

She quickly looked up at me, mascara smeared along her cheeks and on my comforter. "Really?" she said in a throaty voice.

"Really.' I said, getting off my bed and standing to hug her. She collapsed into me and held me tight, like she'd wanted to really hug me for a really long time.

"So what do we do from here?" I asked.

"I don't know…" She said, wiping her eyes. "Sorry about your comforter."

"It's ok, gives it character." I said, slightly smiling. "How about Fro-Yo?"

"Yes! Let's go!" She said happily, scooping up our glasses and taking them towards the kitchen.

I know where we're going after that. The park. To catch up.


	19. This is how her heart breaks

"I still can't believe that you guys knew each other when you were little." Tori said, munching on a French Fry.

"Yeah…I swear you hated his guts." Beck said, shaking his head at Jade.

"Hey, we told you what happened, flaws and all. It happened." Jade said, sitting next to me.

"I still want to see this picture both of you mentioned." Andre said, coming up for air after engulfing his Turkey Club.

"I actually have it right….here!" I said, fishing around in my backpack for the envelope that held the picture of Jade and I on the beach.

I gave to envelope to Beck, who opened it and moved the photo so that he, Cat, Andre and Tori all could see it. After a moment their faces changed from doubtful to smiling softly.

"That picture is adorable!" Tori gushed, poking me in the arm. I smiled as Jade glanced at the picture adoringly.

She turned to me. "This is the original." It actually is, we printed off one of those programs that converts pictures from a camera onto those ready made cards that we put in the printer.

"Uh huh." I said, looking at Cat, who was picking at her Caesar salad.

"You're such a baby." She smirked. The image of Cat messing with her salad wouldn't leave my mind.

"You know, this picture actually validates the love part of that story." Beck said suddenly, causing Jade and I to look at him alarmingly.

"What do you mean?" I quickly asked.

"Just the way you two are looking at each other, it says everything. You guys were really close." He remarked, holding the picture up to the sunlight as if to check if it was a fake $100 dollar bill.

"Hey Little Red, can you pass the ketchup?" Andre asked, glancing at me. I don't think he's quite forgiven me for what I did to him in Robberazzi.

Cat was silent, still aimlessly moving her cucumber and lettuce around in random patterns.

"Cat?" Andre repeated, across the table from her.

I glanced at Tori, Andre and Beck. They all had puzzled looks on their faces.

"What's with her?" Tori asked nobody in particular. I was surprised, but not worried that she would hear us. She hasn't said a word ever since she sat down next to Jade.

"I don't know…Michael?" I threw out there.

"Doubt it, remember, he got arrested a few days ago." Andre said. He was arrested the day Jade and I reconnected. I actually didn't find out until my mom gave me the paper while I was eating breakfast the next morning. Needless to say I was late to first period that day.

I glanced at Beck and Tori, who were looking at each other discreetly very…well, the best way to describe it is lovingly. Then my pocket vibrated.

Jade- Maybe she doesn't like the reality of her two best friends being best friends and the whole romance angle?

I replied "I seriously hope that isn't it."

Jade- I have a suspicion it is. It's been two days since we told everyone and it's like she's reverted to how she was acting when Michael was abusing her.

God, it hurt just looking at the words "when Michael was abusing her". It makes me want to go to the jail, grab a pipe and bash his head in.

"Hey, I have a theory about Cat." Jade spoke up, snapping me out of my trance looking at my phone. Beck, Tori and Andre perked up.

"What if Cat doesn't like Robbie and me being old friends? You know what I mean, the two best friends she has actually knowing each other from when they were in kindergarten?" Jade said.

Beck ran his hand through his hair, Tori took a bite of her Chicken breast and Andre glanced around at the lunch scene, which was rowdy and obnoxious today.

"That's a major problem she's going to have to face, unless you two want to go back to hating one another." Beck said.

"I never hated him!" Jade shot at him. He raised his hands, signaling "ok, whatever".

"That's not going to happen." I bluntly said.

"Good, that wouldn't do anyone any favors. The ball is in her court." Andre said.

"Hey, you mentioned you gave Cat a nickname?" Jade said.

"Yeah, too soon though." I said. "I'll try to get her attention."

The others leaned back a bit. I knew that this was kind of a barometer of how things are going between us right now depending on how this goes.

"Cat? Hello? Anybody home?" I said, smiling and gazing in her direction. She jerked out of her trance and looked around.

"You said something?" She said, glancing at Beck.

"Actually, I asked if you could pass the ketchup." Andre spoke up.

"Oh! Sorry!" She said, grabbing the ketchup and handing it to him.

"You ok Cat?" Beck asked.

Cat glanced at Jade and I, then to Beck. "I'm ok. Just not that hungry."

"Why'd you buy something then? I'm sure if you just wanted to snack on something we'd all pitch in." Jade asked, smiling gently in Cat's direction.

"I was hungry…when I bought it. I just kinda lost my appetite." She said quietly, pink softly appearing on her cheeks.

"Oh, you want something else?" Tori asked.

"Yeah…" She said mournfully.

"What is it?"

"Fro-Yo. But I've had too much this week and haven't gone to the gym."

_She goes to the gym?_

"Well, I always eat now and worry later. C'mon, I'm going for Fro-Yo, who's coming with?" Jade asked, standing up.

_Smart move, jumping on a chance like that._

Everyone, including me, rose and put our lunches away. As we made our way to the parking lot the bell rung, disguising us going to cut class.

After buying the Fro-Yo we drove to Tori's house and settled ourselves in.

"Why don't you worry about getting fat Jade?" Cat innocently asked, causing Jade to spew her Fro-Yo all over her jeans and Beck's shirt.

"JADE!" Beck said, as Jade coughed, trying to breathe normally again.

"Sorry. I am pretty active after school so that's why I eat like I do." Jade said weakly.

Andre looked amused as Tori gathered some wash cloths and gave them to Jade and Beck.

"What did you guys get?" Tori asked, resuming her assault on her "favorite" combination of Chocolate Fro Yo with caramel, marshmallows and little fudge fish.

"Dark Chocolate Avalanche." Jade said, spooning out some and smiling as she ate it.

"Vanilla with Biggly Bears." Beck said, looking down and smiling awkwardly.

"I love Biggly Bear! The gummy ones right?" Tori asked, looking very excited.

"Yeah." Beck said, glancing at her with the same look he gave her earlier. Jade doesn't look to worried by it, but she's good at disguising her true emotions.

"How about you Andre?" Beck said, diverting the attention from he and Tori.

"I love the Neapolitan. It's the best of everything, all packed into one sweet, cold package." He said happily.

Cat glanced at me, since I was the last to speak. "Cookies and cream plus strawberries." I said, feeling myself go red in the face.

"Really! Cat said, perking up and looking at me excitedly.

Andre glanced at my cup, then to Cat.

"What's so special about cookies and cream and strawberries?" Tori asked. I glared at her. "Hey, it's not like its bad or anything." She said bashfully.

"I got it too!" Cat said, standing up. "Here, swap with me." She said, grabbing my ice cream from my hand.

"Cat—" I started.

"That probably isn't such a good idea." Beck said, as Jade and Tori looked at her curiously.

"Why? It's the same ice cream." Cat said.

"Well…it's…" Tori started.

_Got to be the most awkward thing that she could do._

I move to take my ice cream back, but Cat knocked my hand away and scooped some into her mouth using MY SPOON! I sighed and moved hers to one side as I slumped against the couch. I am not touching that ice cream.

Cat glanced around, seeing how everyone but me had a surprised look on their face. "What?"

"You know I put that spoon in my mouth right?" I said closing my eyes.

"You basically just kissed him." Tori said bluntly.

I opened my eyes to see Cat look from the ice cream, to the spoon, to me and then to Jade.

Andre started picking up the trash. I motioned for him to pick Cat's up. He barely nodded, looking like he felt terrible for me.

"I don't see the big deal. I trust Robbie, he's my friend. It's not like he has any diseases."

The room is dead silent. I don't know about everyone else, but I feel like someone just said I'm going to fail for the year no matter what I do.

The silence just stretched for a looooong time. Andre discreetly stood by me and as Cat glanced away, took Cat's ice cream. I felt for my phone and clicked my way until I reached the ringtones. I had to do something otherwise it'll probably get even more awkward.

Tori's Beggin on your knees started playing as I grabbed for my phone. Beck smiled slightly, noticing what I was doing I'm betting.

"Hey….yeah…ok, coming now. Bye mom." I said, completely BS-ing a conversation.

The others except Cat are smiling. "What's so funny? You guys are starting to make me mad." Cat said, actually sounding annoyed.

"Robbie's a momma's boy." Jade smirked, but her eyes seemed happy.

"I gotta go. I'll see you guys later." I said, quickly moving to the door.

"Robbie, hey Rob—" Cat said, as I shut the door.

_Should I open the door? Aw man, I don't know…Forget it, whatever happens, happens._

I spun around and opened the door to find Cat with her back to me and her face buried in Beck's shoulder.

"What happened?" I mouthed to Jade, who looked thrilled I had returned.

"I think she thinks you're mad at her." She mouthed back.

Tori motioned for me to approach Cat.

"Cat? Sorry I shut the door. What were you saying?" I asked, stepping back into the house.

She removed her head from beck, saw me and her face fell. "You're mad at me." She said quietly.

"What did she say?" Andre asked, less than 5 feet away from Cat.

"Cat…why would I be mad at you?" I said, slightly raising my arms.

"I don't know. You are though. You never hugged me." She said, looking away. I briskly walked over and hugged her. She froze, then wrapped her arms around me.

Beck was glancing at Tori with a confused look on his face. Andre shrugged his shoulders.

"Better?" I asked, as she released me. She nodded, and I headed out again.

Actually, I kinda followed through on my fake phone call. I went home and did what little homework I had. Then I heard a knock on my door.

"What a surprise." I said jokingly, opening the door to let her in.

"That had to be the most awkward conversation this week. And that's saying something." Jade said emphatically, following me into my room.

"This isn't good." I said, offering her a seat on my bed. She moved and sat on the edge, and I picked up some random stuff I had strewn around.

"You don't have to do that. I know you too well and don't really care about the clutter."

"It bugs me with a guest in my room." I said, still picking up stuff. Suddenly she yanked on my arm and forced me onto my bed.

"What the—"

"Stop. It makes me feel too special." Jade told me.

"Ok…" I said.

"Cat left right after you did. I took her home, her excuse wasn't as clever as yours though. She actually thought it was your mom." Jade said, smiling.

"What did she say?"

"Doctor's appointment."

"Any hint that she's feeling jealous?"

"Not verbally, but the drive to her house was quiet. She's as tight lipped as a clam."

I laughed. She always has used odd expressions.

"Park?" I asked.

"Sure." She said. We happily walked, chatting about nothing in particular. It's not very far, about 15 minutes away.

We just finished laughing about when we were in 3rd grade and I fell off the stage during the end of year awards ceremony. My parents have the video and refuse to give it up.

"Hey, I need to tell you something." Jade said seriously.

I looked at her. Her face was set in a look of calm.

"Ok, what is it?"

"Beck and I are breaking up."

"WHAT?" I yelled, then glanced around to see if anyone was around. "JADE!"

"It's mutual." She plowed on. "Beck and Vega have been close recently and things have dipped with beck and me."

"Mutual?" I asked, surprised. Where is her side in all this?

"Yeah, I talked to him yesterday and he admitted that he likes Vega."

"What about you? You have kept him close to the vest forever." I questioned.

"I know I can't stop him if he's moved on. And he doesn't want to break my heart."

"That's a good compromise. What about you?"

"Well, we agreed that we still want to be good friends, but we should find other people. It was a good run. Going out for 2 years is longer than most teenage relationships."

"Yeah but—" I started, glancing around the park since we just got here.

Jade gasped, and I don't blame her at all. There was a gigantic white Cadillac SUV in the parking lot. That wasn't what she gasped at though.

Taylor Swift's Back to December was playing in the deserted park, since it was about 2 in the afternoon. A small girl was sitting on the swings. A red headed girl holding her head in her hands.

A thousand things flew through my head. Right before our movie Back to December played. She heard her right after my accident too. I think I inadvertently gave Cat the music that's playing as she cries.

_What have I done?_

I cover my gaping mouth with my hands.

"Cat…" Jade said, sounding close to tears.

I think I made Cat Valentine cry.


	20. This is how his heart breaks

(A/N: This chapter is the most brutal thing I've ever wrote or read. I apologize in advance to anyone who this ruins their day. This isn't easy to read. My girlfriend beta-read it for me and skyped me halfway thru, crying her eyes out. PM me if you want any clarifications or justifications. Thanks for reading.)

_Jade gasped, and I don't blame her at all. There was a gigantic white Cadillac SUV in the parking lot. That wasn't what she gasped at though._

_Taylor Swift's Back to December was playing in the deserted park, since it was about 2 in the afternoon. A small girl was sitting on the swings. A red headed girl holding her head in her hands._

_A thousand things flew through my head. Right before our movie Back to December played. She heard her right after my accident too. I think I inadvertently gave Cat the music that's playing as she cries. _

_What have I done?_

_I cover my gaping mouth with my hands. _

"_Cat…" Jade said, sounding close to tears._

_I think I made Cat Valentine cry. _

_I moved towards Cat, wanting to stem the flow of tears somehow, anyway. I had taken half a step, but the Jade grabbed my arm._

"_Don't. It'll do more harm than good. She's always getting on me for treating her too much like a little kid. I don't want you guys to have that discussion. _

_I pondered what she said for a moment. She's probably right, as horrible as the thought is. In my mind I love her to pieces, but she is a young woman at the end of the day. I need to start looking at her more like that while not changing how I act around her._

_Jade and I quietly walked to a cluster of trees and watched, hoping that she would snap out of it. After about 20 minutes she wiped her eyes and got into the Cadillac SUV. She sat there for a minute, then started the behemoth and drove off._

_I was stunned. Jade looked stunned as well. Finally she turned to me and asked._

"_I didn't know she could drive."_

"_Yeah, and a Cadillac?" I asked, stupefied._

"_That is the complete opposite of what she should be driving." Jade thought aloud._

That was about 2 weeks ago. Today is the last day of school, most people's favorite day of the year. Me? I'm on the fence. I don't want to do the work, but want to see Tori, Beck, Jade, Andre and of course Cat on a daily basis. We didn't really talk much last summer and this summer I simply don't know.

Cat herself is something I simply don't know either. We have never brought up the incident in the park, choosing to leave that private moment, what it was. Private. She has been acting oddly. Some days, she's happy and excited, others, down and unreachable. Those are the days that are hard on everyone. We didn't know before, but she always has smiles to spare and passes them around without a care in the world. Cat's settled into a kind of blah medium that can frankly be kind of annoying. The last few days have been, well ordinary. I had never realized how dull a day could be until I went home and realized I didn't laugh all day.

Sikowitz has been very sad about the summer break because according to him we have "reached the acting pantheon". Basically everyone didn't know what a pantheon was but assumed it was high praise, which they are correct. I'm about to be in this crazy man's class for the last time of what has turned out to be a very productive year on stage for me.

Beck and Tori was sitting together with Jade talking about something funny, because the three of them were laughing.

"Hey, what's so funny?" I asked, as Beck hid Jade's phone behind him.

"Nothing…" He said, suspiciously.

"Hey guys and gals, how's everything shaking?" Andre said smoothly behind me, pulling up a chair.

"Seriously, what are you laughing about? I want to know!" I said insistently.

"Really?" Tori asked, practically laughing as she said it.

"Yes, I really want to know." I droned dully.

"Your baby pictures!" Jade said, falling over as she said it. Beck and Tori started laughing loudly too.

"Jade!" I said, swiping at her phone, trying to retrieve it from Beck, but he held it out of my grasp.

"You were so CUTE as a baby wittle Robbie! Such a cute smile!" Tori said, pinching my cheek as she said it. I moved away and she let go, only to be hugged by Beck. The two of them have definitely gotten closer, evidenced by the fact that whenever I drive by Beck's RV, Tori's car is always there. Lot more hugging and texting, I think they might be going out, but I'm not sure yet. I would think about it more, but Jade is still licking her wounds after the breakup so we haven't talked about it.

"Yeah, yeah. Where'd you get them?" I asked Jade, trying to look annoyed.

Jade rolled her eyes. "I asked your mom last night after dinner."

"You guys had dinner together?" Andre asked, evidently surprised.

"Yeah, it's nice to get away from my parents for a night."

_It's not getting away if you've done it almost every night._

"Hey guys!" Cat said perkily behind Jade and I.

"Hey Cat." I said, glancing at my phone. Everyone else was silent. I glanced at Beck and Tori, who had their mouths open in shock. I peek at Andre and Jade, who look the exact same. I turn to Cat and…

_No. She…I can't…Oh God…_

Cat Valentine didn't have any crazy facial piercings or tattoos. She had changed her most recognizable feature. Her hair was back to brown, like I remember it back in middle school.

"You dyed your hair?" Jade asked hoarsely.

"Yeah! Do you like it?" She asked happily, twirling to give us 360 degrees of curly brown hair.

_This isn't my Cat. Screw the fact she was never mine, damn it, she was MINE. This isn't the girl I love, she has red hair. This has to be a joke, or part of a play…something._

Tori nudged Beck, who spluttered "Looks great, very shiny." Tori rolled her eyes at his attempt to flatter her.

"Thanks! Now what was so funny?"

Everyone was silent for a moment. "Nothing, just a joke Andre said." Jade said.

Cat smiled at him. "What was the joke?" She asked, reaching for a chair and sat down backwards facing us.

"Umm…I forgot it. Sorry." He said, looking down.

"That's ok!" She said perkily.

"Ok class, as you all know today is the last day of school so it's pointless to do an exercise so— WHOA! What happened to your hair Cat?" Sikowitz asked.

Cat twirled her hair with her finger. "I undyed it." She simply said, smiling shyly.

"I can see that." He said, sounding shocked. "On to your work…" He said, walking away.

I looked in his direction, confused. "Did he give us an assignment?"

"No, and let's keep it that way." Jade said, glancing at Cat.

"So what are you guys doing this summer?" Andre asked, kicking back in his chair.

" Hanging around, maybe going to Southern Cali this summer." Tori said.

"Not sure yet, haven't talked to my parents all week." Beck said.

"Why not?" Cat asked, anxiously.

"They want to know why Tori is coming over" He glanced at Jade, gauging her reaction. "And why Jade isn't. I believe they should let me live my life."

"They should butt out, seriously." Jade said, waving her hand.

_Still hurting I see._

Suddenly Cat got to her feet, looking like she was going to do something that was bugging her.

"Jade, can I talk to you?" She asked.

"Sure…" Jade told her, glancing at the four of us, then walking away.

I exchanged glanced with the others. _What are they going to talk about?_

"When did she dye her hair in the first place?" Tori asked after they were out of earshot.

"8th grade, about the last week of school." Beck and I said at the same time.

"So she had Red hair for about 3 years?"

"I think so, she might have gone back to brown for a couple of weeks just to keep it healthy, but it's always been red whenever school was going on." Andre told her

A sudden thought just went thru my head._ Boy, that would be bad, but…_

"What? Whatcha thinking Robbie?" Beck asked.

"I'm betting they went to the janitor's closet to talk."

"Well, what are you doing here for then? Go!" Andre said, pushing me towards the door.

"You don't think—" I asked.

"Who cares, go!" Tori said, pointing at the door.

I stood up and walked out towards the main hall. As I approached the closet I heard raised voices.

"WHAT?"

"Jade! It's ok, he'll understand!"

"Cat! I can't believe you did that… it's so NOT YOU! You just said that was gross two weeks ago and now…"

"I'm not seeing the big deal."

"It's a huge deal Cat! He told me a couple of days ago that the thing he loved most about your appearance was your hair, it made you stand out from all the other girls. Now you've changed that too. Are you trying to break his heart?"

"He'll understand, I know he will. If he loves me, he will."

"This isn't about him loving you Cat. That'll just make it harder when he finds out. You guys are going to have to talk about this, you know that."

"Yeah, but—"

"You guys need to talk today, so he can recover over the summer."

"NO! It'll hurt too much, he might…"

"You've put him in this spot Cat, I'm going to get him."

I started stepping away from the door, back towards Sikowitz and the relative peace.

"NO! Please Jade, don't get him!"

I quickly retreated from the door, knowing they soon would be advancing back towards class.

"What's wrong, you look terrible." Tori said, looking worried at my reappearance."

I had a hard time breathing since I practically ran back. "Something's up. They were loudly arguing. And it has something to do with me. I never got to hear what it was though, they sounded like—"

"Hey! We're back." Jade said cheerfully. Cat was looking down at her shoes, which I now noticed were tennis shoes. The old Cat never wore Tennis shoes; I didn't even know she owned a pair.

"Have a nice chat?" Andre asked.

"Yeah, it was nice just to talk for a minute." Jade said. I knew they were BS-ing it, so that Cat would loosen up a bit.

"Riiiing!"

"Everyone have a great summer!" Sikowitz said, as we walked out the door towards lunch.

Lunch was a very subdues affair. Cat didn't buy anything, and like Jade offered, everyone pitched in so she wouldn't have to buy something she didn't want. I brought her favorite sandwich as a backup, just in case this would happen, Peanut Butter and Strawberry Jam, but she declined when I offered it, causing everyone to look at her, surprised since only a week ago the same situation arose and she snatched the sandwich out of my hands and it was gone practically instantly.

Luckily, lunch was over quickly, and Jade grabbed me by the elbow as we stood up.

"Cat wants to talk to you. She is going to be in her car." She whispered in my ear.

"Is it the SUV we saw a while back?"

"Yeah, let the bell ring, then go out to the parking lot. You can't miss the gigantic thing."

"What if she tries to leave?" I asked, seeing Cat walk towards the parking lot looking very depressed.

"I booted her back tire. She can't go anywhere if she tried."

"What about after we're done?"

"I'll be in my car, so walk by and I'll take it off so she can leave."

I nodded, then walked around aimlessly until the bell rung. Then I made my way past a few teachers and got to the parking lot, where Cat's huge SUV was immediately visible.

I knocked on the passenger side door, and she jumped out of her skin. Her face fell as she pressed the unlock button to let me in.

"Hey, you wanted to see me?" I asked.

"Umm…yeah. I need to talk to you." She said, not removing her gaze from the steering wheel.

" Ok, whenever you're ready." I said, trying to give her the courage to follow thru on what she wanted to tell me.

"Well… I haven't exactly been…honest with you Robbie."

My heart sunk._ What could she possibly have done that is that bad or enough to cause Jade to force her to talk to me?_

I kept my mouth shut, but nodded my head, waiting for her to continue.

"I don't know how to start…" She mumbled, voice shaking.

_God, how bad is this?_

"Well, start whenever it starts. Just talk about it chronologically."

"Ok…well it starts a few days after you stayed with me after you guys met Michael…"

Again, I nodded for her to continue. She looked like she was about to cry.

"I met a guy…his name is Colton. He's nice…and a football player."

"What does being a football player have to do with this Cat?" I snapped, not liking at all where this was going.

She was silent, as I could feel a sense of what was coming…and my heart was starting to feel very broken, unlike ever before.

"You're going out with him, aren't you?" I said bitterly, not bothering to hold back my displeasure.

"Yeah, for about a month." She said. I just had a startling thought fly through my head.

"We went to go see The Art of Getting By about a month ago. Were you going out with him then?"

She hiccupped, then spoke up, "Yes."

All I could do was put my head into my hands. _How could you do that Cat…HOW?_

"You don't like it." She said, sounding close to tears.

"How am I supposed to like it Cat? What is the right way for me to react? I'm just supposed to say 'Oh, that's cool Cat, congratulations!' you know how I feel. YOU KNOW!" I said, whacking my head against the dash.

I could hear her sobbing; this obviously wasn't going how it was supposed to. Not like this would have been easy in any situation.

"Jade was right…" She said quietly.

"About what?"

"This would break your heart…"

"Yeah, well congratulations, you've done that. Are you done?" I spat.

"No…there's more." She said, seeming to recover a bit. I kept quiet, waiting for the rest of the news that had already ruined my day.

"I….had sex with him."

My ears just started ringing…._ There's no way._

I opened my mouth a couple of times, only to find I had nothing to say and abruptly shut it. Finally, "Why?" I whispered, to the dead silent car.

"I felt so terrible about Michael, I needed to get him out of me, I was still recovering since it hadn't been very long, and—"

"Wait…you did it before we saw the movie?" I hoarsely whispered.

She nodded, and made an "Uh huh." noise.

I got my phone out of my pocket to find that my hands were shaking violently. I tried to call Jade, but I dropped it. Picked it up, and dropped it again.

"Robbie, why are you shaking?" She asked, as I picked up my phone and promptly dropped it again. I didn't respond, I think I was in shock or something.

I bent down to pick up my phone again, still silent.

"Robbie, Talk to me please! ROBBIE!" She said, shaking me, sounding frantic with tears rolling down her cheeks without restraint.

"Did you lie about Michael almost raping you?" I finally asked.

"What—NO! I wouldn't lie about that, I told you the tr—"

I'm a religious kid. I don't think I've told you guys this before. Unlike my parents, I'm Christian, they're Jewish. Why am I telling you this? I think I'm losing my faith. This is that bad.

"The truth? The truth? Really Cat? How can you do this! You know what, everything Beck did, Andre did, I DID? We did it FOR YOU! We love you Cat! We all love you. But you went and got laid with some guy and made our actions, what we did for you out of LOVE be in vain."

"Don't say that! Don't use all those words Robbie, they're not—"

"NO! Don't say what I can and can't say! I'm not going to sugarcoat it for you anymore! What we did for you was in vain! You know what that means Cat? Remember 9/11? Jade's uncle died in the Twin Towers that day! All those people, we just assured they DIDN'T die in vain because we got Bin Laden! She cried into my shoulder a few days ago just because they honored all 2,976 people just by getting him! What we did means NOTHING because of what you did!"

She seemed so stunned that she wasn't even crying. She just looked at me with red rimmed eyes.

"Have you ever heard of 1 Corinthians 13 4-8?" I asked.

"No, I don't go to church all that often Robbie." She said, practically silently.

"It's about love. It says love, is strong, that love will always persevere; it will always find its way. Well, that's not true, and you just made me realize it." I spat.

"Robbie, it's not like that! It's—" She said, sounding desperate to calm me down.

"Cat, I would have done anything for you. I am going to have to have physical therapy all summer that's going to cost thousands of dollars because what your STUPID ex-boyfriend did to my back! He twisted and bruised my vertebrae! I'm going to have back problems forever! I would have died for you Cat. I did what I did for CAT! Not this." I flicked her hair back. "This isn't Cat! The Cat I love has red hair, is silly and loves cupcakes! You aren't Cat! I don't love this Cat!" I said, finally retrieving my phone, and opening the door.

She reached for me, grabbing a handful of my shirt.

"Robbie—"

"Don't touch me." I said, roughly pulling my shirt out of her grasp. I opened the door and got out, slamming it hard in the process. I looked back, Cat seemed frozen, with her arm still outstretched. Tears rolled down her cheeks and were falling even as I watched. I turned away and walked right past Jade's car. I glanced at her, crying as I did it. She looked at me, horrified that it apparently went so badly. I was out of sight by the time she had gotten out of the car.

_There are no words for how I feel right now…_


	21. Recovery pt 1

Light flashed across my TV screen, as I killed a couple more aliens. I'm in the process of beating all of the Halo games in sequence.

I haven't seen anyone since that day. After I left school I came home, and went right to my room. I didn't come down for dinner or anything. I just cried. _How can a human being with any semblance of a heart do something like that knowing the consequences?_

The next day, about 4 in the afternoon my dad came to talk to me. He asked me what was wrong, I never skipped meals or acted like this. He looked scared, unlike I have never seen him before. I told him simply "Cat broke my heart."

He blinked, and then looked shocked. However, he quickly recovered and said. "I'm sorry son. Take all the time you need." He walked away, presumably to go tell my mother, who came up a few minutes later and said "I'm so sorry she did that sweetie. Is there anything we can do?"

"I don't think so mom. I appreciate it though."

"Do you want to stay up here? We can bring your meals and stuff up here if you want?"

"Yeah, that sounds nice, is that ok?"

"Sure sweetheart." She said, standing and kissing me on the cheek. She opened her mouth to say something, but thought better of it and left. I know what she was about to say too.

_I love you._

Every single second has been brutal. It might come off wrong, but I had a picture of Cat with red hair as my lock screen on my pearphone. I've changed it now, to the picture of Jade and I at the beach, I scanned it and saved it digitally.

Then I decided I needed to do something, ANYTHING. I scanned my options, settling on something I haven't gotten to do in a while. Play my 360.

And that's how I came up with my first of what could possibly be many coping techniques. I'm kind of bummed out that nobody has contacted me. I don't know whether it's been the shock of it all, or if Andre, Beck and Tori even know. It's still disconcerting though.

I hear footsteps coming closer and closer to my door. It's about 2 in the afternoon and I've already had lunch, even did my dishes, emerging from my room for the first time in 2 days.

"Knock, Knock."

"Come in!"

Jade walked in, holding 2 bottles of red Raderade in her hands.

"Hi." She said nervously.

"Hey." I smiled, pausing the game to concentrate on her.

"You know, you can still play, I don't mind." She said, gesturing to the screen.

"Ok." I said, turning back to the game.

"How are you?" She asked, after a few moments her watching me.

"Umm…." I started, then really thinking about how I am.

"I feel…like part of me isn't here anymore." I finished.

She came over, sat on my bed and hugged me. "I'm sorry Robbie."

"Did she tell you about Colton and…you know?" I asked, curious to see if I got a special version of the sordid affair.

"Yeah…she told me what she told you. After you walked by I found her crying into the steering wheel uncontrollably. I talked to her for a little bit." She paused for a moment. "Well, talking isn't the right term. I don't know what is though. I heard how the conversation went after many questions and a lot of crying."

I didn't argue any of her points, not knowing what to say.

"You really tore her up."

I looked at her, and surprisingly she had a neutral face. Not mad, just…Jade.

"You're not mad?" I asked, surprised.

"I don't like that she's so upset, but what she did is almost unforgivable. She two timed you and used you as a rebound even when she had already bounced back. I can't defend her for that." Jade said, her neutral face turning into one of annoyance.

"Do the others know?" I asked, curious.

"Yeah, going completely off topic for a sec, did you know that Tori's dad was the one that arrested Michael?" Jade asked.

"No, he was?"

"Yeah, when I told everyone he was in the room. I was hesitant to talk with him in the room but he said and I quote "Does this have to do with Cat and that Michael jackass?"

"Yes sir."

"I want to hear this. I give you policeman's honor I won't tell anyone."

"Really?" I said.

"Yeah, he's a really nice guy."

"How did he react?" I asked.

"Horrified, and justifiably upset. He was speechless when I had finished. Everyone was." Jade said, sounding amazed even as she said it.

"Ok."

"Beck and Andre paced around for a while, venting their fury at Cat's actions. David calmed them down after a little bit."

"David?"

"Tori's dad's name. He didn't want to be known as 'Mr. Vega' or 'Officer'.

"Have they talked to Cat since they found out?"

"Nope, Beck and Andre are giving her the silent treatment and both Tori and her dad want to talk to you soon." Jade said, then sipping her Raderade.

I heard a "Knock, Knock." Not my door though. I heard my mom's footsteps as Jade and I exchanged glances of "Who's that?"

"Hello?" Mom asked, sounding confused.

"Hi, are you Mrs. Shapiro?" A deep voice asked. Jade nudged me.

"That's Tori's dad!" She harshly whispered.

"Yeah, who are you?" Mom replied.

"I'm Officer David Vega, but I'm not here on police business. Is Robbie home?"

"Yes, I'll show you to his room." Mom said, as the footsteps return and came to my door.

"Thank you ma'am." Mr. Vega said, as my mom walked away, wanting to give us privacy.

""Knock, Knock."

"Come in!" I said.

Tori's father opened the door, and Tori peeked out behind him.

"Robbie!" She exclaimed, running towards me and tackling me into a hug and knocked us both off my bed.

"OW!"

"Oh! Sorry! You're back still hurts doesn't it?" Tori said apologetically, helping me up.

"Easy Tori. How are you son, I'm David Vega, Tori's father." He said, smiling adoringly at his daughter. He extended his hand and I shook it.

"Nice to meet you sir, you must be very proud of your daughter." I said, sitting back on my bed. Tori blushed a deep crimson and smiled shyly.

"Thank you son, I'm sorry to hear about the events between you and Ms. Valentine." Mr. Vega said.

"Hmm." Was all I could think of saying. "Have a seat, sorry about that." I said quickly.

Both of the Vega's pulled up chairs and sat down.

"You ok Robbie?" Tori asked, sounding very morose.

"Ok I guess.

"Any news on Michael?" Jade asked, diverting the attention from me.

"Yes, he hasn't posted bail yet and a preliminary hearing is set for July." Mr. Vega said matter of factly.

"Why July?" I asked, surprised. I was expecting in the next 2-3 weeks.

"There's a backlog of criminal cases." He told me.

I decided to turn the topic back to the events of a few days ago. "Have you talked to Cat?" I turned to Tori.

"No, I haven't." She said, looking rather bothered.

"What's wrong?' I asked, sensing that something was up.

"I…I know you were the one that this affects most, but I feel like she just stabbed all of us in the back." She said, sounding defeated.

"It's ok Tori, this was a very traumatic event that will take some time to heal." Mr. Vega said, hugging his daughter.

"You say that like we saw someone get shot or something." Jade said.

"Yeah, actually the pain felt by the victim's is kind of similar. Pain is pain, no matter whether it's emotional, psychological or physical."

"I feel so bad for you Robbie, you love Cat and then this happens…this has to be absolute hell." She said, glancing at her father and crying at the same time.

If Mr. Vega was upset about his daughter swearing in his presence, he didn't show it. "As a police officer I've had to read many reports about domestic violence and love. I've seen horrible incidents occur over much less. I have to commend you for keeping your cool in that situation."

"But I don't keep my cool sir, I yelled at her. A lot." I said, feeling guilty for some reason.

"It's a terrible thing to say, but it's true. She deserved it. She knew what she did and the consequences that followed. I don't care that she has some new boyfriend, she didn't anticipate the person who cares about her most yelling at her."

"Have either of you talked to Cat?" I asked both of the Vega's.

"No." Tori said.

"No I haven't." Mr. Vega said.

"Then who's going to break the ice with her?" Jade questioned.

"I don't know." Mr. Vega said. His ringer went off. "Oh, I'm so sorry. There's been an accident and they need crowd control. Nice meeting you all." He said, walking out the door without giving us a chance to say goodbye.

Tori sighed. "That happens occasionally. In the middle of something, but duty calls."

I leaned back onto my bed. I have no idea what to say to anyone. What is there left to say?

"Cat said something about your back Robbie, what's going on?" Jade suddenly asked.

"Oh! When Michael tackled me into the door knob of that SUV he bruised some vertebrae and tweaked them." I said.

"That conversation must have been horrible." Tori said, putting her hand on top of mine.

"Knock, Knock."

"Who could it be now?" Jade asked, exasperated by all the visitors.

"Come in!" I called out.

"Mind if we come in? Or are you in the middle of something?" Beck asked, poking his head in the door.

"Nope, you're good. You don't count as 'we' though." I said flippantly, but smiling slightly.

"Hey, I'm here too ya know." Andre said, stepping inside after Beck.

"Beck!" Tori said, getting to her feet.

"Hey gorge—Tori." Beck said quickly, glancing guiltily at Jade.

"Hey guys. How are you holding up?" I asked, gesturing them to the chairs Tori and her father had vacated.

"Shouldn't we be asking you that?" Beck responded.

"Yeah man, talk to us." Andre said.

"I've talked to everyone, but nobody has talked to me! I would like some information!" I said, voicing my frustration at the well intentioned pity act.

"Ok…what do you want to know?" Andre asked me.

"How you guys are! I keep on getting asked how I am but nobody says how they are."

"HEY!" Tori and Jade yelled simultaneously.

"Sorry, just tell me what you're thinking." I quickly said.

"I'm mad because of how she led us on. She definitely shouldn't have done that." Beck said.

"I'm more mad for you man. You are in love with her and she pulls this stunt? She seriously needs to look at things and realize his prince, has bushy hair and is right in front of her." He said, smiling and ruffled my hair. I begrudgingly smiled.

"Well, I'm glad you can at least smile after all of that." Tori said.

I laughed, "Yeah, it's coming back kind of slowly."

"Hey, who's hungry?" Beck asked. Everyone nodded or said "Yes."

"Then let's get out of here and go get some expensive, tasty food!" Jade said happily, getting up. The rest of us followed and after I quickly said goodbye to my parents, we all were out the door.

We all got in our respective vehicles and drove to a familiar Mexican restaurant near Hollywood Arts.

"You know, we need to consider carpooling or something, this has got to be the least effective way of getting around." Tori said, waving her hand.

"Where are we? Seattle? No, we're in LA, we're supposed to use everything in excess. Even cars!" Andre said, flailing his arms around.

"Ok Captain Environment, get inside." Beck smiled and pushed him inside. He pulled me aside before we went inside.

"I was thinking about going and talking to Cat with Tori if she's ok with it. You ok with it?"

I pondered the idea. _I can't just let this one slide, how am I going to handle it?_

"Yeah, sure. I have no idea on how to handle it." I confessed.

"Here's how I'd do it. Just give it some time. Time heals all wounds, and you guys need to get away from each other, or at least she needs to get away from you." He said, looping his arm around my shoulders and directing me inside.

I don't know whether it was the drama of the last few days, or just the fact we were out of school, but we were loud and obnoxious, just kids having fun for a change. We didn't think about the other people glaring at us, screw them. We have bigger issues than some people in their 60's wanting us just to be quiet.

We were still calming down after Jade told the story of my falling off the stage at the 3rd grade awards when someone about our age came up.

"Yes?" Beck said, turning to face him and not bothering to hide his annoyance.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, but I'm on a date right now, so can you please shut up?"

Beck blinked, obviously surprised at his bluntness. Everyone else seemed surprised at his boldness.

"Yeah, I don't think so. The last few days have been really bad so we're going to just have fun, sorry about your date." Tori said, waving him off. He glared at Beck and Tori, who gave him an equally cold stare back and then marched off huffily.

We all then burst into laughter. "Did you see the way he walked off! Like a macho man? What a douche." Jade said, cracking up. It was funny, but I kept an eye on Mr. Macho to see if he would turn around.

_Wow, that's a pretty girl he's with, too bad…no way…_

"Guys. We have a slight problem." I said, still looking at the guy.

"What is it?" Andre asked, as everyone peered over in the direction I was looking.

"Middle table in that secluded area." I clarified. Everyone zoomed in on it.

I took a deep breath. "That's our good friend Colton that just came and spoke to us."

"Wait…you mean that Colton?" Tori asked, eyes widening as she whipped back around.

"Damn it, we can't shake her!" Beck said, slapping his palm on the table as Colton and Cat stood to leave. We were just hanging around since we had already paid the check.

"Hey, let's go make a statement. Robbie, you're in the mood for some loud music right?" Beck asked, avoiding Colton's glare as he and Cat walked by, she being oblivious to our presence.

"Yeah." I said.

"How about we walk right by them silently, then he blasts a song right in their ears?" Andre proposed.

"How about the second half of No Sleep?" I asked Beck and Andre.

"What's No Sleep?" Tori asked.

"Wiz Khalifa." The three of us said at the same time. I stood up, and was followed by the others.

As we walked out the door we spotted the lovely young couple holding hands and walking slowly towards a SUV parked right by the exit. We all picked up the pace a bit. The order is Beck, Tori, Andre, Jade and lastly me.

They had about 10 feet to their SUV when Beck calmly walked RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEM.

_He doesn't mess around._

"Hey! Watch it!" He yelled, as Tori passed them up quickly while completely ignoring them. He was silent while the rest of us passed them. I don't think Cat recognized anyone though. Once I rounded the corner I quickly hopped in my car and rolled down my passenger side window while pulling up next to their SUV right as they walked up to it. I looked in my rearview mirror to find the others gathered by Tori's car, motioning for me to blast them out of the water.

I hit the stereo, right where I wanted the song and maxed the volume.

"No drivin, no ,sleeping, live it up like, it's the weekend, when the DJ, play the song we all gonna drink, gonna party all night long…" Boomed out of my sound system, thru my open passenger side window and right into their faces. They jumped out of their skin and Colton grabbed onto the door handle to stay upright. I pretended to check my mirrors to find everyone behind me falling over themselves they were laughing at them so hard.

"Turn that down!" Colton yelled, barely audible.

I turned down the volume for a moment. "What buddy? I can't here you! You said louder right?" I said, cockily.

I locked eyes with him as I hit the volume again.

"No drivin, no ,sleeping, live it up like, it's the weekend, when the DJ, play the song we all gonna drink, gonna party all night long…"

Oddly enough, I feel better.


	22. Can't help if you're the cause

Before Rex, before I met Beck, Cat, Andre and Jade (again), after Jade and I having our falling out. The origins of this story begin before that. I mentioned awhile back that I happen to be a Christian. Now, before people start jumping to conclusions I have 2 things to say. 1. We don't care if you practice another religion. If you do and choose to join us in our discussions, we aren't going to take it easy on you, but we will respect your own opinions. 2. We don't care if you aren't religious either. Sometimes, you just need a helping hand and we can help with that.

Ok, now that Public Service Announcement is over with I want to first off explain who 'we' are that I referred to earlier. I am part of a youth group style organization called Young Life. The two rules above are listed inside all of the buildings we meet in, and the leaders follow those rules without deviation. I joined Young Life before most of the stuff that's impacting my life right now.

The leader's name of the group I'm with is John. He is a wonderful person, he never yells, always listens and is infinitely patient. His reward is the loyalty of me and about 20 of the closest friends I can think of. We've been going to these meetings for about 3 years as a group now, and it's always been us, John, and his two assistants, who flit in and out, but let John run the show.

The events of the past week have been very earth shaking in many ways. I lost confidence in Cat, which my trust in my other friends grew exponentially by them being there for me when I need it most. I still haven't answered one question though.

"Robbie! My man, how have you been man?" John asked, pulling me into a hug.

"Actually, that's why I asked you to come here. That's what I need to talk you about." I said, as his face turned serious and he sat down.

"Remember the girl I talked to you about a few months ago?" I started.

"Yeah, you never said her name, you just wanted advice." John said, eyeing me curiously.

"Yeah well, I'm going to give you all the info this time. Her name's Cat, and something happened."

He stayed silent, but his expression was open and invited for information.

"Well, things have gotten better since my accident, but it hasn't been all great. She had a boyfriend about a month and a half ago, and he seemed like a nice enough guy. But one day in class, I noticed she had some bruising in some bad places so we spoke to her, found out what he did, beat him up and sent in a police report."

He frowned slightly at the mention of beating him up, but then asked. "Was it sexual assault?"

"Yes."

"Did he get arrested?"

"Yes, it was in the paper a few days ago."

"Ok, continue." He said, face returning to neutral.

"Well, some friends and I helped her recover from the traumatic experience. About a week after we confronted him, Cat and I went out for a movie. After the movie she said that she didn't want to go again."

"Why?"

"She said that it was kind of awkward and uncomfortable for her."

Face back to neutral, so I plowed on.

"Fast forward to a couple of days ago. She's been acting funny, but nothing suspicious. She and a friend of mine go talk. After that, the friend asked me to go talk to Cat. Well, I talked to her and I found out 3 things. One, she has a new boyfriend. Two, they had sex. Three, all this happened after she broke up with the first boyfriend, but before I saw the movie with her."

He sighed deeply, and glanced at me. "Is it ok if I call her Cat?" I nodded.

"It sounds like to me that Cat isn't a loyal girl, isn't worth your time, or simply using you."

I frowned slightly. "Well, that's not what I'm here about. I think I'm having a crisis in confidence. I simply don't see how He can let this happen to me on his watch, what have I done wrong?" I asked.

"Robbie, that's not a crisis in confidence. That's simply a good question. We're taught that good things happen to bad people because He believes that they can overcome. That's why sometimes you see extraordinarily bad people get to positions of power, then lose it faster than they got their power. This is simply a test Robbie, if you can simply power on, you will make it." He clapped me on the shoulder.

"Thanks John." I said, standing up.

"Hey, that's what I'm here for. Feel free to give me a buzz if anything new comes up. And good luck with her man." He said, then headed out the door.

You have no idea how much better I feel. I was afraid that I was a bad person, or had done something wrong. Now I just have to pass this test.

I drove back to my house, mood improving every minute. When I got to my room, I found a girl feverishly pounding away on one of my Xbox controllers.

"Having fun?" I asked, prompting her to scream, duck away and fall off my bed. She popped right back up, yelled "ROBBIE!" and threw a pillow at me.

"Easy Jade, it's just me."

"You scared me, that's my defense, and that makes me not guilty." Jade said quickly, as I laughed.

"You're so weak. I wasn't even home, you couldn't wait?" I joked, causing her to pull out my second wireless controller and toss it to me. I plopped down on my bed and joined her multiplayer game.

"You seem happier, did everything go good?" Jade asked, as we frantically dove for cover.

"Yeah, I feel better. Still need more time though." I said, obliterating a enemy. Then I noticed something was up. Jade and I are on different teams, but fight together? Ok, time to end this charade. She turned around and I shot he in the back, killing her character.

"Robbie! You little—" Jade started.

"Jadelynn? Do want some lunch sweetheart?" My mom called through the door.

"No thanks Mrs. Shapiro!" Jade called back, face frowning in an attempt to get me back. I effortlessly thwarted her attacks, to her utmost frustration.

"Damn it!" She said quietly, health getting hammered again. My phone started ringing, and I picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Robbie, it's Beck. Think you can pop on by to the RV? We talked to Cat yesterday." Beck said. Jade killed me and made a triumphant noise.

"Sure, be over in 10." I said, ending the phone call. "They talked to Cat." I said to Jade, who paused the game and gathered up her shoes.

On the way over, we debated what might have happened. We ultimately decided one of two things happened. Either Colton was there when they visited, or Cat talked.

"Knock, Knock."

Beck swung open the door and we walked inside to find Andre looking very sleepy and Tori still in her pajamas relaxing on the couch.

"Morning." I said to Beck as her retrieve two coffee cups and handed one to Tori, keeping the other for himself but gestured to Jade and I that we were welcome to have some.

" Morning. Why is it so bright outside man?" Andre asked, rubbing his eyes.

I noticed some skinny jeans draped over a chair. "Sleepover?" I quipped at Beck, who went pale and avoided Jade's attempts at eye contact.

"So why are we up at 11 in the morning at your place Beck?" Jade asked, voice laced with anger.

Beck looked nervous as Tori fiddled with her coffee cup. "Well, we talked to Cat yesterday."

"We knew that, otherwise I'd still be sleeping. I was up til 2 AM last night man!" Andre said with a wave of his hand.

"Cool story bro." Tori said, rolling her eyes.

"Anyway, what did she say?" Jade asked, getting between could have been an explosive argument.

"Actually, a lot surprisingly." Beck said. Jade and I smirked, since one of our two possibilities turned out to be true.

"Ok, details please." I requested, and Beck seemed to be emboldened by this.

"Well, she and Colton lasted all of 45 minutes after we saw the two of them. Apparently he wanted Cat to stand up to us, and she didn't feeling guilty about how she treated us. So after arguing Cat left him at the park and drove away in her SUV. By the way, when did she get a SUV?" Beck asked in general.

"Don't know, we saw it about 3 weeks ago at the park." I said, glancing at Jade to see if I should stop there.

"Robbie and I walked there and we found Cat sitting on the swings crying with Taylor Swift playing." Jade explained. Beck, Tori and Andre's jaws fell.

"Crying?" Tori asked weakly.

"Yeah, I wanted to calm her down but Jade said she had wanted to be treated like she was older." I explained.

"Any idea what she was crying about?" Andre asked, seemingly starting to wake up.

"No, but knowing what we know now it was probably how she and Robbie had been getting along. Remember the ice cream?" Jade asked. The group made an "Oh yeah!" noise.

I just started feeling terribly guilty. I was the one who made her cry after all.

"Robbie, you ok?" Beck asked, slapping my knee.

"I made her cry." I said.

"Hey, don't worry about it. All relationships have their ups and downs." Tori said, smiling at Beck. Jade rolled her eyes.

"What else did she say?"

"Well, she immediately started hugging Beck and didn't let go for a LONG time." Tori said.

"Ok…" I said, wanting to learn some VALUABLE information, not how Beck is Cat's official life preserver.

"She said so many times about what she did. She kept on saying how much of a jerk he was, and how she put him ahead of us. How bad she felt…" Beck said, glancing at me.

_I know what's coming next…._

"She mentioned you too Robbie." Beck continued, not surprising me at all.

"Surprise?" I said half-heartedly. "I was bound to come up at some point."

"No, what she said was interesting. She sounded like she had given up on you. Like you had intimated that you didn't love her anymore." Tori said, inspecting me for any reaction at all.

"Hey, I said I yelled at her, I'm not proud of what I said." I told them.

"What did you say?" Andre asked, sounding fully awake for the first time.

""_The truth? The truth? Really Cat? How can you do this! You know what, everything Beck did, Andre did, I DID? We did it FOR YOU! We love you Cat! We all love you. But you went and got laid with some guy and made our actions, what we did for you out of LOVE be in vain." _

"_Don't say that! Don't use all those words Robbie, they're not—"_

"_NO! Don't say what I can and can't say! I'm not going to sugarcoat it for you anymore! What we did for you was in vain! You know what that means Cat? Remember 9/11? Jade's uncle died in the Twin Towers that day! All those people, we just assured they DIDN'T die in vain because we got Bin Laden! She cried into my shoulder a few days ago just because they honored all 2,976 people just by getting him! What we did means NOTHING because of what you did!"_

_She seemed so stunned that she wasn't even crying. She just looked at me with red rimmed eyes._

"_Have you ever heard of 1 Corinthians 13 4-8?" I asked._

"_No, I don't go to church all that often Robbie." She said, practically silently._

"_It's about love. It says love, is strong, that love will always persevere; it will always find its way. Well, that's not true, and you just made me realize it." I spat._

"_Robbie, it's not like that! It's—" She said, sounding desperate to calm me down._

"_Cat, I would have done anything for you. I am going to have to have physical therapy all summer that's going to cost thousands of dollars because what your STUPID ex-boyfriend did to my back! He twisted and bruised my vertebrae! I'm going to have back problems forever! I would have died for you Cat. I did what I did for CAT! Not this." I flicked her hair back. "This isn't Cat! The Cat I love has red hair, is silly and loves cupcakes! You aren't Cat! I don't love this Cat!" I said, finally retrieving my phone, and opening the door._

_She reached for me, grabbing a handful of my shirt._

"_Robbie—"_

"_Don't touch me." I said, roughly pulling my shirt out of her grasp. I opened the door and got out, slamming it hard in the process. I looked back, Cat seemed frozen, with her arm still outstretched._

Tori had her hands over her mouth, Beck had his eyes closed and Andre was rubbing his forehead.

"Well, that changes everything." Tori said.

"Explain." I asked.

"It's all your fault then." She said, causing me to fall out of my chair.

"Hey, it wasn't nice, but—"

"You drove her to do this Robbie, this is on you now." Tori continued.

"How so! She found a new boyfriend, didn't tell anyone, got in bed with this new guy, then proceeded to put a knife in my back and twist it until I can't feel anything anymore! Do you know how BAD that feels Tori? Of course not, you always get what you want when it comes to this kind of thing."

Almost everyone in the room protested except Jade.

"HEY! Easy, she is just voicing her opinion." Beck said, popping up off his seat and looking like he wanted to deck me right then and there.

"Well, the truth hurts sometimes. I can't help the reality of things." I shot back, also getting to my feet.

Beck blinked, then slowly sat back down. The room was awkwardly silent for about a minute.

_Ok, I'm done here. They didn't do anything for me._

"I'm out. Thanks for making me feel worse." I said, briskly walking to the door and exiting, brushing off Tori's attempt to stop me.

_Robbie! You are such an idiot! Why did you yell at her! Now look where you're at! On a island with no way off! It's going to be damn near impossible for you no live this one down!_

_It doesn't matter how thoughtful and caring your friends are. If you screw up, it's on you._ I thought, leaning my head against the steering wheel.

"Knock, Knock."

I looked out the window to find Tori looking very sorry standing there. I grabbed my phone and typed out a message.

"You're right. I did screw up ok? I knew that. Now please let me just deal with it ok? Please?"

I sent the message to her, then started the car. She jumped away from the car and started back inside as I drove off.

_Lesson as always. I am the world's biggest idiot._


	23. Mending bridges and crossing lines

For the past day and a half that stupid argument has just been rolling through my head. I just had to yell at her. I should have just bit the bullet and taken the beating silently. It always goes better when you are the one that keeps their mouth shut. And now I turned what could have been grounds for moving on into a situation that could possibly leave me with nobody by my side.

I've been debating my next move over the last few hours. I didn't sleep much last night after the meeting at Beck's. I've decided to go and apologize to Cat for—

"BANG BANG BANG! ROBBIE!" Jade yelled at my door.

I opened the door calmly. "Yes?"

"Whatever you do, don't go apologize to Cat. It'll only make things worse in the long run." Jade said breathlessly, like she ran from her car straight to my room.

"Wha—Wha—What do you mean?"

"She'll just do something worse in the future."

"Worse?" I asked. _Can it get any worse?_

"Meet a new guy that she actually stays with."

_Oh God. That is worse._

"Can I go talk to her?"

"Yes, do that. PLEASE do that. Beck said that she was still apoplectic about what happened and you can't let this linger for the whole summer. " Jade said emphatically.

I never responded, gathering my phone and car keys and walked right out the door and drove straight to Cat's.

_So I need to calm her down without apologizing about what happened. This isn't going to be easy. _The thought disturbed me. Then a brain wave hit me.

_You know what, why am I just taking the advice of the others without putting my own spin on it? I need to be my own person more, and that will help._ I thought as I pulled up next to Cat's house, noting the notorious SUV parked in the driveway.

"Knock, Knock"

Mrs. Valentine answered the door. "Robbie! How are you sweetie?"

"I'm fine Mrs. Valentine. Is Cat home?"

"Why yes she is, she's been in a daze for a couple of days; apparently you guys had a argument?"

I looked down at the welcome mat. "Yes, that's why I'm here. To straighten things out."

"Good, you know you are really important to her. Always bringing you up at dinner and at odd times." Mrs. Valentine said cheerfully.

I shyly smiled, but looked back up at her. "Is she in her room?"

"Yes, would you like me to leave to give you guys some privacy?"

"That would be nice, thank you." I said. She gathered up few things and exited the house. I took a deep breath and went up the stairs towards her room.

I politely knocked on her door.

"MOM! I haven't gotten my bras out of the dryer yet! Can you please quit bugging me about that and my room? AAARRGH!" Cat said, sounding beyond aggravated.

_Awkward…_

"Umm…I'm not your mom." I said.

"EEEP! Robbie? Oh man!" She said. Her bedframe squeaked and I heard feverish movement inside.

Then it suddenly stopped. "Robbie?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you wait like 30 minutes? I'm really not presentable right now."

"Ok! I countered.

"Thank YOUUU." She said, as I walked back towards my car.

Honestly, I should probably be thanking her for bailing me out. No, I'm not ditching. I can't believe I didn't come with something to cheer her up. I bought a giraffe to go with Mr. Longneck but that wouldn't cut it alone. I quickly go through my options, which are limited. Now that I think about it, the two things I know she loves is Red Velvet Cupcakes and Cookies and Cream and Strawberry Fro-Yo. For a girl that I care so much about, shouldn't I know more of what she likes?

As I'm thinking about it, I type out a message to Cat's mom, saying that Cat wanted 30 minutes to "make herself presentable". Before you start thinking I'm weird, she gave me the number about a year ago in case something happened and I was around.

She responded. "Good, she hasn't showered in 2 days. Did she get her stuff out of the dryer?"

I shuddered. _At least she's cleaning up now._ " No, she didn't mention anything about the dryer. I'll rely the message though." I sent off, getting in my car and driving to go pick up the only realistic option of the two, Fro-Yo.

The line is SO long, probably since it's 102 outside and the heat of the summer in California. Finally I escape the rapidly heating up parlor and speed back to Cat's dangerously close to the 30 minute time barrier. The worst thing that could happen is for me to be late and leaving her to think I just up and left.

I pull into her driveway, forgetting being polite about leaving room for Mrs. Shapiro and hurry inside. Once I shut the door I can hear footsteps on the second floor.

I shoot off a message to Cat "Whenevr your ready."

A few minutes passed, and I was just starting to wonder if she saw it when she came rushing downstairs. She walked right by me, not noticing me at all until—

"AAH! Stranger danger!" She yelped, covering her face.

I laughed. "Cat, it's just me. It's Robbie." I said in a calming voice. Well, I hope it was calming.

The moment I finished she started going red. "Ummm. I don't have makeup on." She mumbled, face still covered and head directed towards the floor.

I smirked. "Cat, it doesn't matter. What does matter is that I've got a surprise for you if you can keep your eyes shut or go to your room without looking back."

"Ok!" She said excitedly and quickly ran up the stairs to her room without even hesitating to look back.

_Boy, she really listens to me._

I walked up the stairs holding the Fro-Yo, spoons and Mr. Longneck's new friend. Ok, what is wrong with me? I'm already whipped and I don't even have a girlfriend!

To my surprise, her door was still shut tight when I got up. I decided it would be best just to wait for a moment. Moment turned into a few seconds, then into a couple of minutes. Finally,

"Cat?"

"Yeah, OH! The door! Come on in!" She called out.

When I entered her eyes were still shut tight in anticipation of her surprise. I prepped the gifts in record time.

"Cat, you can open them now."

She opened her eyes and immediately made a noise between a scream and a squeal.

"Robbie, this is so…thank you!"

I simply grabbed my much smaller container of cookies and cream and strawberries and sat next to her bed as she stroked her new stuffed giraffe.

"Cat, I want to talk to you." I finally said, breaking the comfortable silence of us eating our Fro-Yo.

Her face went from content to horror stricken in record time. She quickly looked like she was about to cry.

_So much for the gifts calming her down._ I thought as she nodded for me to start.

"First off, I wanted to say I'm sorry for saying some stuff I shouldn't have the other day. It was hard enough for you to tell me and I made it worse and I'm sorry.

"Robbie, —" She started, but I cut her off.

"But, I want you to know that this isn't a free pass. I know you know that you did some stuff you shouldn't have and I'm not letting that slide ok? Just tell me next time. That's all I ask."

"I'm sorry Robbie, I really am." She said, tears starting to fall. I grabbed a tissue box off her bedside table. "I just…I don't know. But then all this stuff happened and I felt better and suddenly it was after the movie and you and Jade got together and…"

"What do you mean Jade and I 'got together'?"

"You guys are going out right?"

"No no no no no sweetie. Jade and I are friends. That's it. We don't want anything else."

She looks so relieved to hear that. "But back to what happened. If you had just told me, preferably before the movie, but even a little while afterward, I would have taken it better. But since you waited almost a month it was basically like rubbing it in my face when you did tell me."

She looked at me with shining eyes, but she wasn't crying. Her face had all the signs of an impending melt down so I scooped her into my arms for a hug. She held onto me like never before, crying into my shoulder softly.

"Robbie?" She whispered, still crying.

"Yeah?"

"Do you hate me?"

"No, I don't think I can hate you Cat." I said, noticing a cute freckle on her nose that made me smile just looking at her.

"What are you smiling about?"

"Just noticing you have tiny freckles."

"Don't talk about itttt." She said, shielding her face away from me.

"Cat, it's not a bad thing. I think they're cute." She turned to me with obvious wonder.

"Really?" She asked.

"Yeah."

She launched herself at me, knocking both of us off of her bed and halfway onto the floor. I grabbed onto her wrist as she was falling and heaved her back up before she ended up on top of me again.

It took me a moment to get back up onto her bed, but Cat was glassy eyed.

"Cat?" I asked, worrying about her.

"I…I…I…" She stammered. I patiently waited for her to complete her sentence.

"I didn't know you were so strong…" She said, voice barely above a whisper.

_I'm not strong; I've been working out, but not like hard core or anything._

I smiled and shook my head. "Hey, when did you get that SUV?"

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to ask because her eyes locked with the floor again.

"Cat…." I said, wanting her to look up, but with no luck. "Sweetie?" Nope.

_I haven't called her that since…the movie. Should I? She said she liked it…_

"C'mon sunshine. What's wrong? Talk to me sweetie." I said, hoping she wouldn't freak out.

Her face popped up immediately. "I don't want to talk about it…"

"Hey, you'll feel better. Does it involve me?" I asked.

She looked at me like a little girl. "Yes, I— um, have had been having nightmares."

"Nightmares? What about?"

"Remember your accident Robbie? You said that the car that hit you was a white Cadillac SUV. The nightmares have been that I…crossed the intersection and hit you. But you didn't…didn't…." She said, starting to cry.

_Oh man…_

"Cat, that's horrible!" I said, pulling her into another hug whether she liked it or not. Apparently she wanted a hug because she wrapped her arms around me like a life preserver.

She clung to me for what seemed like forever. Not that I'm complaining or something. She just hung onto me for at least 2 whole minutes.

Finally, she started to talk again, but held onto me tighter. "You're my best friend Robbie! You are such a awesome guy, when that happened I was afraid someone had taken you away, then all the Michael stuff and you showed how much you care about me…I can't lose you Robbie…I can't…I just can't…You're too important…" She sobbed, tears falling into my shoulder more rapidly.

"You can't die Robbie, don't leave meee." She said, looking at me crying.

I am honestly speechless. I can't promise anything about not dying, but I'll do my best.

"Cat, I'm not going to die on you ok?"

"But I have almost driven you away twice in one semester…I don't want to lose you that way too…"

"Cat, you're not going to lose me. But I'm not yours exclusively. I'm a friend, but nothing more." I said, deflating myself.

"NO!" she yelled, noise muffled by the fact she had moved to my other shoulder. "You're my best friend…I trust you more than anyone else Robbie…"

I didn't know what to say. Luckily, it looks like she had one more thing to say.

"Did you mean what you said about not loving me like this?" She asked, pulling on her dark brown hair.

_Right to the heart of the matter…_

"Cat…I love you…but not like I did last week. I'm not sure about that right now." I confessed. She lifted herself from my shoulder only to collapse against her pillows. She looked miserable.

"I did drive you away…"

"Cat. It wasn't anybody's fault. It just happened to work that way ok? Please don't beat yourself up about it."

Silence. All she did was look up at the ceiling.

"Cat, c'mon…you have to—umm!"

All thought was wiped right off my mind by Cat hugging me and crushing her lips onto mine.

….

Finally, she broke apart from me, in what was a very hot and heavy kiss.

"I—oh—ummm…" was all that came out.

"All the pain I've caused you…I thought you should get some sort of reward Robbie."

After a moment I gather some semblance of my thoughts and said "You didn't have to do that…"

"I know…I'm sorry about what you've gone through just for me though." Was her response.

I ran my fingers through my hair. "I'm glad I came by…are we ok?" I asked hopefully.

She looked up at me hopefully. "Yeah…can I ask you something?"

I nodded.

"Will you go to the movies this weekend with me?" She asked.

_WHAT?_

"Sure, are you asking me out?" I wondered aloud.

"Not if you don't want to think of it like that…" She responded, looking at her pillow.

I sat on the edge of her bed. "Cat…I'd love to go." Her face perked up with unabashed joy.

_Oh god, this is going to kill her inside._

"But as your friend. Even as your best friend, if you'll let me." I finished. Her face fell and she slowly put her head back into her pillow.

I heard what sounded like her sob, then respond by saying "Ok…"

_Ok, I can't take it anymore._

"Cat, can you sit up and close your eyes?" I asked, and she obliged, wiping her eyes like a small child.

_Here goes nothing…_

I closed the gap between us, gently kissing her, as opposed to her kiss, which was passion filled and rough. I felt her gasp slightly and link her hands around my neck. She fell back into me, knocking me onto her pillows. I wrapped my arms around her petite waist and we stayed like that for a moment. Then, I decided I had to break it off because she sure wasn't going to.

I opened my eyes to find hers still shut in simple enjoyment of the moment. She slowly opened her eyes and looked at me, still having her arms around my neck.

"Can you give me some time Cat? I'm not sure what I feel right now." I started. She kept looking at me, her face saying one thing only.

_I just want you Robbie. I don't want to wait. Please?_

She looked miserable, but kept eye contact with me.

"I think I might still feel that way, I just don't want to go into something then not feel the same way. Do you know what I'm saying?" I finished. Her expression changed from misery to understanding.

"Ok…thank you Robbie. Nobody's ever said that before…they either rushed on ahead or said no." She mumbled.

I rested my head against hers. I saw her eyes shut and she sighed deeply, snuggling into me.

"I think too much of you to do that…" I told her, caking her to hug me tightly and a few tears to come out. I wiped them away before they hit her adorable cheeks, made even more adorable by her tiny freckles.

I laughed. "Your freckles are too cute." She smiled, then glanced at me mournfully as she let me go and I got off her bed.

"Wait…today is Friday. When do you want to go the movies?" I asked, the though crossing my mind.

"Is Sunday ok?"

"Yeah. See you then." I said, exiting and closing the door behind me.

_Wait…_

I turned around before I reached the stairs and entered her room again. She evidently didn't hear me, and had laid back onto he pillows, silently crying. I backed up and knocked on her door.

"Yes?" She asked, voice shaking.

"Do you want me to pick you up?"

She didn't respond right away. "Umm….can you come but I drive you?"

I smiled. "Sure, see you then. And I forgot, your mom called, she does want you to get your stuff out of the dryer."

Next thing I knew, she had blown by me headed downstairs towards the dryer. I calmly walked downstairs and out to my car.

_Boy, am I glad her mom didn't walk in that time._ I thought, messaging Mrs. Valentine that Cat and I were done talking.


	24. Tension

Beck, Tori, Andre and Jade and I are all going to meet up at the park in a few minutes. I'm still flying on cloud nine after seeing cat yesterday. Looking back, the whole experience was kind of…odd. Not that I didn't like it of course, but going from a conversation so dismal to having my lips pressed against Cat's so rapidly makes my head spin even now, 24 hours afterward.

"Hey man." Beck said, snapping me from my thoughts, with Tori on his arm. She is grinning happily and looking like they just came from the beach.

"Let me guess…the beach?" I sarcastically asked.

"Yep!" Tori said perkily, as Beck smiled and hugged her.

My phone buzzed. _Srry! Hot girls came to fam reunion, cant get away! hope evrythng is ok-Andre_

I frowned, sad because he usually is someone you can rely on for support or just to be there. Too bad he isn't here.

"Andre isn't coming, he's stuck at some family thing." I said. Beck and Tori both frowned.

"Aww man!" Tori said, evidently disappointed.

"That's too bad, guess we'll just have to—"

"Sorry I'm late. Where's Andre?" Jade asked, jacket thrown over a bikini swimsuit. Beck looked momentarily distracted, then busied himself by messing around on his phone. Tori seemed irked, but not worried by Jade's appearance.

"He's tied up at a family thing." I explained.

"So…" Beck started, glancing at Jade, and then quickly glancing away. "How'd it go with Cat?"

_Ok, don't mess this up._ I thought, as Tori looked down slightly as I glanced at her.

"Actually, it went well. I learned a lot about her."

"Learned a lot about her? What's that supposed to mean?" Tori asked, befuddled.

"I mean that apparently she's bringing me up at home. Her mom said she does it all the time." I said, as Jade and Beck looked surprised.

"Really…" Jade said, glancing away, thinking hard about something.

"Well, that's a good sign, what did you guys talk about?" Beck plowed on.

"Well, I apologized to her—"

"You idiot, don't come crying to us when she breaks your heart again." Jade said quickly.

"You know, it really would be nice if I could finish what I was saying so that you know the full story." I shot at her, furious. "As I said, I apologized, but told her that it wasn't a free pass." Beck smiled, then I looked at Jade, who was furious I had called her out again about her cutting in the middle of my sentences.

"Did she take that ok?" Tori asked.

"Yeah, she seemed keen on accepting blame for it though." I said.

"Ok, more about 'what you learned'." Jade pushed.

"She's been having nightmares. That SUV of hers? Same kind that plowed into me earlier in the year. She keeps on having dreams that she is the driver that hits me, and I die."

Tori gasped. "That's so horrible!" as Beck cringed and Jade was emotionless.

"Anything else?" Beck asked.

The kissing flew right to the front of my mind. _I think that's something better left off private._

"Umm. Nothing else, just wanted to tell you guys that things are—"

"You did something…something you liked, but are either ashamed to tell or afraid of our reaction." Jade said, smirking at me._ She knows me too well._

"Talk." Beck simply said.

"She asked me if I still loved her." The three of them froze, looking at me horrified.

"And what did you say?" Jade whispered.

"Right now? No."

"Did she cry?" Tori asked quietly.

"Not when I was in the room."

"Well, at least you guys are talking…"Beck said, drifting back towards his car. Jade started to do the same but I grabbed her arm.

"There is one other thing, but obviously he wanted to get back to who—what he was doing." I told Jade, who didn't look pleased.

"You were right about her. She asked me if we had gotten together, and when I said no it looked like it made her day."

Jade smiled slightly. "When it comes right down to it, she isn't all that different from Vega or me. Paranoid about losing her man, always thinking about him…" She said, waving goodbye as she walked to her car.

_You have no idea._ I thought, the smell of strawberries coming over me, causing me to smile.


	25. Compromises and Breakthroughs

Ok, so maybe this movie night/date/meeting/reunion thing is a lot more stressful than I originally thought. I usually don't put much into the saying 'the clothes make the man' but I stood in my closet, trying to choose what to wear for 45 solid minutes before my mom came and rescued me. Usually I don't think you can buy a girl's heart either, but I remembered that I've bought Cat either Fro-Yo or some other item on a consistent basis for well over a month now. What have I learned/remembered on the drive over to Cat's today?

She has a talent for making me do things I usually wouldn't do.

I walked to the valentine's front, door, and knocked politely. What a name, Valentine. It's like living in Texas and your last name is Gunn. (A/N: Shout out to a friend in Texas! You owe me 5 bucks girl, I did work you into my next chapter)

"Robbie! Nice to see you again son." Mr. Valentine greeted me, gesturing for me to step inside.

"Thank you, how are you sir?" I asked.

"I am very good." He glanced behind him. "There's my little cupcake." He said, smiling at his daughter, who was wearing a silvery dress that I think I've seen before. Cat smiled and hugged her father, smiling the entire time.

"You kids have fun tonight." He said, walking us out.

"What time would you like her home?" I asked. Usually her curfew is 12, 1 on the weekends, but it's nice just to clarify.

"Whenever you guys are ready to come back." He smiled, then shut the door.

"Hi Cat." I said, unlocking the car.

"Hi…that was my daddy." She simply said, smiling as she hopped in the car.

I shut the door behind me and started the engine. "I know, I met him before. He's a really nice guy."

"When did you meet him?" She asked, sounding surprised.

"After Jade's play."

"You were there? I never saw you." She rambled.

"Yeah, I was there, sitting next to some reviewer named Josh."

"Oh…" She said, looking for something in her purse.

I drove for a few minutes, wondering why I was having a hard time forming any cohesive thoughts. I glanced at Cat, who was messing with her dress.

More silence. We're getting close to the theater. Still have no idea what to say. I think it's safe to say at this point I'm choking.

"Robbie?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you ok? Usually you are quiet, but you seemed confused or nervous or something." She rambled, looking worried about me.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just can't think of anything to say."

She was quiet for a second. "You don't have to talk if you don't want to."

"It's not that, I just don't know what to say." I said, parking and getting out of the car.

Cat hung in the car for a second, typing something out on her phone. Then she got out, straightened her dress and—hold on, my phone's vibrating.

_Remember when you said you wanted to go to the movie's and said you wanted to go, just not like a date?-Cat_ (A/N: I want to clarify something, people have asked if the messages include the little signature at the end. No, the messages is everything before the dash. I just add the dash and the person's name for clarification)

_Oh man…what does she want to talk about?_

"Yeah." I responded, as we started walking towards the theater.

Cat scooped her phone up, looked at the message and feverishly started typing, hiding her face and phone from my view.

_Well, can you be my best friend? Like you offered?_

For the second time in 3 days, she has make me incapable of speech. Finally I respond. "Sure sweetie."

She glanced at her phone, glanced at me, smiled and said "yay." The she surprised me by looping our hands and resting her head on my shoulder.

"Cat?" I asked, thinking what she did isn't typical best friend behavior.

"Sorry." She said. "I just kinda wanted to do something other than just hug you." She released my hand and straightened up.

"You don't have to say sorry, I just was surprised because it's a little beyond best friend stage."

"You don't like it." She pouted, shrinking from me.

"No, I'm perfectly fine with it. Just surprised me." I said. She smirked at me.

"Well, we're a little beyond best friend stage aren't we?" She said smugly, grabbing my hand again.

_Do it Robbie…she's not going to mind._

_She's going to think you like her!_

_No, it's not that big a deal. She just held your hand and used you as a headrest!_

God, I'm crazy, can't even make up my own mind over a simple gesture. I guess it's because I don't want to lose her. I don't think it would be that big a deal. My impromptu kiss with her was definitely more risky, but then again, that meeting was nuts…you know what screw it, I'm doing it.

I glanced down at Cat, she was happily walking and humming a tune to herself still holding my hand. Here goes nothing…

I discreetly wrap my hand around her waist, trying to make the move look casual. She glanced up at me, clearly questioning what I had done.

I moved to take my hand off her hip. "Sorry." I said, looking down at the sidewalk. She stopped my hand before I could take it off her.

"No, don't. I like it." She said, resting her head on my shoulder again.

We walked the rest of the way to the theater like that. When we let go, she squeezed my hand as we reached the theater, not wanting any misunderstandings like last time.

"How about Green Lantern?" I asked.

She looked at me, disagreement evident by her expression. "Cars 2?"

"It'll be packed!" I argued.

"Then why don't we go eat and catch the late showing?" she argued, gesturing to the screen. There were two 7:30 matinees and one at 11:45.

"Isn't that a little late?" I retorted, thinking there are limits to how late her father will want her out, no matter what he said.

"No, I'll even call Daddy and tell him."

"Ok, don't come crying to me when he says no to the late showing." I said. Immediately I regretted saying that because her eyes welled up into tears.

"Robbie, why did you all of a sudden become so mean…I just want to spend time with you, is that such a bad thing?"

"Sweetie…no, it's not a bad thing. I want to hang out with you too. It's a saying sweetheart, I don't actually mean you can't come to me if he does say no." I explained, hoping to calm her.

It had a drastic effect, as she smiled, blinked back her tears and phoned her father as my own phone started ringing.

"Hello?"

"Hey man, you home alone again?" Beck asked, Tori in the background.

"No, I'm out tonight, why?"

"You are? Good for you man, who with?"

"Cat."

He spewed out whatever he had in his mouth. "What? What's wrong?" I heard Tori frantically ask in the background.

"Robbie's out with Cat tonight."

"What? Yes!" Tori yelled.

"Why didn't you say you asked her out?" beck asked me.

"Well, it's not what you think. And I never told you because you were too busy having eye sex with the girl next to you."

Apparently Beck had put it on speakerphone because it went really quiet, then Tori tried saying something, to no avail.

"And I can tell the difference between someone after getting out of bed for the first time all day and someone who has been to the beach. Jade actually went to the beach." I finished. The two on the other end were stunned silent.

After a moment they seemed to get their minds back. "Sorry." Tori said.

"It's ok; just don't play that game again. I'm not an idiot. There's a difference between ignorance and stupid."

"Anyway, back to you." Beck said rapidly, changing the subject again. "Is it just you and Cat?"

"Yeah."

"I think it would be a nice time just to throw her against a wall and—"

"BECK!" I yelled, simultaneously with Tori in the background. Cat turned to me, still on the phone herself.

"Hey, she told you personally how much you mean to her. You have to make a move at some point." Beck plowed forward.

"Firstly, you never heard the whole story.—"

"What do you mean?" Tori jumped in.

"I mean two things, and don't interrupt again or I'm hanging up. One, she told me a lot more, but I let you guys get back to whatever on earth you were doing. Two, maybe I've 'already thrown her against a wall' using your term."

Both of them made triumphant noises, then, cat walked over to me, phone with hand over the mouthpiece. I decided to hang up on them to avoid an awkward Q & A. Some things are better left private. As the two of them know I'm sure.

"Daddy wants to talk to you quickly." Cat said, handing me her phone.

"Yes sir?"

"You guys are free to see the late Cars. Cat's wanted to see that ever since it came out. One problem is that the neighbor hood watch has banned anyone from entering the neighborhood after 12 PM and since the movie starts at 11:45 you obviously can't make that." He said.

"Then why don't I just bring her home and see it tomorrow night?" I asked, not really meaning what I said but to help create the image of a responsible kid he doesn't mind his daughter dating sometime in the near future hopefully.

"Because she has been so excited to spend time with you ever since you came by on Friday. She was bouncing off the walls on after you left. And she needs to start being her own woman, not just living by our own rules, no matter how much I don't want that to happen." I can practically see him smiling thru the connection.

"Then how am I going to get her home then?"

"Simple, she stays with you tonight."

_You cannot be serious._

"Can you please say that again, I don't think I heard you right." I asked, not believing what he just said.

"I said that she can stay with you at you're house tonight. I met your parents awhile back and trust you enough to leave you in charge of my daughter for one night."

"I—uh…thank you sir."_ Apparently I've already got him convinced…_

"Do you want to stop by and get some clothes so she can change if you guys want to hang out tomorrow too?"

If I hadn't just pinched myself I would be thinking this was a dream, an unbelievably nice, but ultimately harsh and cruel dream.

"Uh, why don't you ask her that…?" I said, handing back the phone to Cat. "Yes Daddy?" She quickly looked shocked, then intently listened. "Yeah, that sounds nice. See you after dinner. Bye."

"Robbie!" She squealed, jumping into my arms happily. Several onlookers glanced at us, smiling. _Just another young couple in love…_

_Not really. I countered._

I bought the tickets, and then proceeded back to Cat, who went to go sit on a bench while I bought the tickets. She was rubbing her feet.

"I hate these shoes. The edges of them make my feet hurt." She mumbled as I approached.

"Give them to me and walk barefoot then." I suggested. She looked at me like I just called her an angel. "Really Robbie?"

I chuckled at her face, which I just noticed has no makeup on. Apparently she liked what I said the other day and is going with it again tonight.

"Yeah, where do you want to eat?" I asked, extending my left hand to take her heels. She handed said shoes to me and grasped my other hand.

"I was craving Palm Garden earlier, and this time we won't get interrupted…" she said, causing my mind to drift about that scene in her bedroom again.

_What is wrong with me? Snap out of it Robbie! That was a one time thing._

"Robbie? You ok, you look…conflicted." Cat asked, snapping me from my mental debate.

"I was thinking, sorry. Palm Garden it is." I said, climbing into my car and putting the accursed heels in the backseat.

"What about?" She asked, closing the door.

"Cat…" I said, slightly groaning.

"Robbie, tell me. Talking makes things better. You taught me that." She said insistently.

"This time it won't trust me." I sighed. "Please put your seat belt on." I said, refusing to put the keys in the ignition until she did so.

"No, we're talking about this. I don't care what it is Robbie. I'm not letting anything stand between us and having a good night tonight. Tell meee." She pleaded, pulling on my sleeve.

"Cat, I'm telling you. It's going to be like the ticket person last time we went to the movies, but worse."

She was unmoved. "Tell me. I can take it." She said, eyes pleading for me to trust her.

_Man, I love her eyes._

"I was thinking about what happened Friday."

"What about it?"

I gave her a look. _You know what it is. You started my dilemma._

"When we kissed? The first or second time?" She wondered.

_I can't believe she wants to have this conversation…_

"Second." I barely said.

She looked at me curiously. "You liked it?"

"Of course I liked it, why wouldn't I?" I retorted, causing her to smile with her dimple showing.

Then it was quiet for a bit. Cat sat there, looking at me, smiling happily.

"You thought about how much you enjoyed it, weren't you." Cat said.

I simply nodded. I don't think I could talk if I tried.

"You know, that's the best kiss I've ever had." She said, blushing madly but keeping eye contact with me.

"Uh…thanks." I said, looking down shyly. A moment passed.

"Kiss me Robbie."

_Is she out of her mind? Friends don't do that! Not even best friends, which apparently we are tonight!_

"Cat, I don't think so, I still don't know how I feel and—"

"I don't care. I trust you Robbie. You aren't going to do anything crazy. I just want to make you happy. And since I know you want to kiss me again I feel comfortable letting you do that."

"But we're best friends for tonight Cat. That would screw everything up tonight."

"I told you earlier. We're a little past best friends."

I took a deep breath. "Are you sure about this Cat—"

"Robbie, you're over thinking this. Please, trust me on this one. You'll feel better." She said, looking at me with a look that said "Do it, or I will force you to."

_Fine, hope this doesn't screw it up._ I thought, chancing a glance at her before I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her softly. I felt her smile and vigorously kiss me back. On and on and on she went. At some point she somehow climbed over the compartment in the middle and ended up on my lap.

Finally I broke apart, realizing she had wrapped herself entirely around me. "How—"

She smiled. "I'm changing my answer to what I said earlier. That was the best kiss I've ever had." She hugged me tightly, still on my lap. Thank goodness I parked away from any other cars.

I blushed again as she scrambled back over the compartment and buckled herself in. "I remember where I saw that dress now." I said to myself.

"I wore it going to Michael's once. You said it was fine, but you're eyes said something different so I decided to wear it tonight." She said matter of factly, as I started towards Palm Garden.

The dinner went really well. The hostess didn't put us in a romantically themed section, which I appreciated after what just happened. Cat and I had a fun time, at first just talking then getting into a fierce kicking fight which ending when she whacked my shin with her reapplied heels. She quickly took them off, vowing not to wear them again.

The scary thing is, I'm pretty sure those heels are going either to the trash or the back of her closet, never to be heard from again.

Things stayed positive while I drove back to her house to pick up tomorrow's clothes. She ran up the steps giggling trying to get away from me. I'm not sure why.

She had already disappeared by the time I entered the house.

"You like her, don't you?" A deep voice asked behind me.

I jumped at least a foot off the ground and yelled "AAH!"

It was Cat's father.

"Sorry sir." I said, trying to relax again.

"No problem son, I tend to sneak up on people. You didn't answer my question."

_Gosh, what do I tell him? Yes, I'm falling for your daughter once again?_

"Umm…yes sir." I said, looking at the ground.

"Robbie, look at me." He commanded.

"I'm glad. Her last real boyfriend…well, you know what happened. She absolutely adores you."

"Sir…you probably already know that we had an argument a while back and I'm not quite sure I like her that way. I'm not sure about a lot when it comes to her." I admitted.

"That isn't a problem. I'm glad you're thinking about it. Proves you truly care about her well being, peace of mind and safety. But I wouldn't worry about whether she will find another guy."

"Why not?" I asked, completely confused. "She is constantly changing her opinion about everything."

"I think she's already fallen for you. Even if you come to the conclusion that you don't like her back right now, I believe she will wait until you come around."

There's no way he could have said anything better.

"I—"

"I'm packed. Whenever you're ready Robbie." Cat said happily, walking towards us.

"See you crazy kids later." He smiled, as Cat pulled me back towards the car. I glanced back to see her father smiling. His face said it all.

_Told you._

Cat turned on the radio when we started back towards the theater. I'm glad, because I'm starting to come to a conclusion about how I feel about Cat.

I was still adding everything up when we got to the theater. After we bought our snacks and drinks we found that they were still cleaning the theater.

She pulled me to a bench right outside, next to a cluster of trees. I shivered, despite it still being hot.

"You're thinking again." Cat said, sitting across from me and munching on some popcorn.

I didn't know what to say to that, so I kept quiet.

"You still thinking about us?" She asked.

_I didn't even know there was an 'us'._

I sighed and ran my fingers thru my hair. "Yeah…and I don't like it."

"What do you mean? Talk to me." She said, putting the popcorn to one side.

"I…." I start, but shake my head.

"Why don't you like it? Staying friends isn't a bad thing." She said, putting her amazingly soft hands into both of mine.

"I do want you Cat…but not in a good way."

"I don't get it." She said, looking like I just spoke to her in Portuguese.

"Can I just say it and not sugar coat it? The best way I can think of it is kinda…rough."

"Sure." was her response.

"I love kissing you…I want that…but I just think it's too soon for us to start going out or something like that. We need to give it more time." I confessed, letting go of her hands and let my own fall to my sides.

She was quiet for a moment. "I understand." She said, not sounding let down or anything. She sounded perfectly normal, to my amazement.

"You do? I basically said…" I trailed off.

"You want me." She said, pointing at herself. "But you don't want to hurt me." She finished, pointing to her heart.

"Yeah."

_God, I'm such a sick person…_

She grabbed my hands again. "I'm fine with that." I looked back up at her to find her smiling at me softly. "It might be too soon for us to start dating. But I'd rather wait and not go out than make the mistake of rushing into it and damaging our relationship to the point of no return."

I wiped a tear from my eye. I feel so horrible. How can I do this to her? I'M TURNING CAT VALENTINE DOWN! She WANTS to date me, and yet for some reason, I think it's too soon to everything that's happened between us.

"God, I'm a psychopath." I mumbled, putting my head in my hands.

"No." she grabbed my hands yet again. "You're the best guy I know. You'd never do anything that would hurt me. I don't deserve you, and that's the truth."

"Where do we go from here?" I asked.

"How about this. We go back to our normal lives, looking for that someone. After 6 months, we report back and if one of us is in a relationship, then maybe it isn't meant to be. Maybe I find a boyfriend or you find an awesome girl that you adore. Maybe I don't feel quite the same way I do right now? And if neither of us is dating anyone, and we feel the same way, then we could possibly try us." She said, pulling herself into my lap and smiling at me.

"I…I'm so sorry Cat. You want to do this and…I can't pull the trigger…" I said, looking away.

"Robbie. I'm not mad or sad. I'm glad you love me to the point that you don't want to break my heart." She said, cuddling herself into my chest.

"I like your 6 month plan." I admit. It sounds bulletproof.

"I'll even make one exception." She started.

"Ok…"

"If you want, I'll give you 2 kisses like what we did earlier tonight a week. Not in public. Privately. Only if both of us are single. You in?"

_She keeps on saying she doesn't deserve me, I think she's got it flipped around…_

"Sure, now—"

"Our theater is open." She said, hopping off of me. We made our way to the theater happily, myself carrying most of the snacks. It's amazing how much junk food she can consume and stay so _tiny_.

We found ourselves in our customary spot, in the back, middle. After about 10 minutes only 1 or two more people showed up. Cat prudently decided to remove the armrest between us and sit cross-legged next to me. I messed around on my pearphone, still trying to beat the app that always guesses the celebrity right. I think the name is Akinator. (A/N: It is an actual app. I haven't beaten it yet. Needless to say I'm getting pissed by now.)

Suddenly she poked my forehead.

"Why'd you do that?" I smirked._ Even her most random moments are the most adorable._

"Just to see you smile." She admitted.

_Aww…_

"You have to be the cutest thing alive." I said, voicing the belief I've held for what seems like forever now. She blushed and looked at my phone.

"You're not wearing makeup." I smiled, kissing her forehead. "Does that count towards my kiss limit?"

"No, this does though." She leaned into me in a similar fashion that she did in the car. This time though, I enjoyed it a lot more and realized she has tendency to take control, which you wouldn't expect from a girl her size.

Finally we broke apart. "The trailers are about to start." I murmured. She shifted off of me, but leaned against me when it started up.

Time for Robbie's Movie review! Cars 2….is pretty good. The fuel battle is a cleaver way to sent everyone to different parts of the world, and Pixar crushed the animation. I really liked it, and Cat actually got caught up in the final race, celebrating when everyone lived. I knew it would all end ok, but I'm happy she's happy.

When we got out of there it was a solid 1 in the morning. She seemed pretty exhausted and I'm glad I have the extra bed in my room for tonight. Some part of me still can't believe this is happening. For grief's sake, she's sleeping at my house!

When I pulled up the porch light was out. My parents usually let this be a message to me that they are already asleep, whenever the summer started they said I didn't have a curfew so that isn't a problem. Cat is especially quiet right now though, I told her about the light thing but she still is anxious.

"Here it is." I joked, opening my door. Cat smiled. "This seems like you Robbie." She said, walking in and putting her bag down. She walked around kinda slowly as I set up the futon-like bed.

"Thanks Robbie." She said when I stopped to admire my work. Man, my back hurts though.

"No no no. I'm here tonight. I cleaned the sheets yesterday so they won't have too much of me on them." I joked.

"But if you're on this bed…" She drifted off. "Robbie." She crossed her arms.

"You don't have a say in the matter. Now go get changed." I told her. She frowned, but marched off to change.

I'm glad I cleaned yesterday, before that, it was messy. I wouldn't want Cat to see all my stuff spread around like it is usually.

_Wow! Ok, next time remember to pop a Tylenol or something before you set up that bed. It feels like someone is poking with a needle right in the lower part of my back._

Someone very gently per her head on my shoulder and is massaging my back.

"Bed mess you up?" she asked. I nodded.

"I think—"

"—give up trying to make me feel better. I'll be fine, trust me sunshine." She smiled at the mention of her nickname.

"Fine, thanks for being so nice and for all the fun tonight." She said, getting on her tiptoes to kiss me goodnight.

"No problem."

Soon I laid down and quickly fell asleep.

…

…

…

…

…

_Someone's touching me, more like gently nudging me._

I reluctantly open my eyes to see Cat shaking me softly. "Robbie…" She said, barely above a whisper.

"Yeah?" I mumbled sleepily.

"I had that nightmare again."

"Nightmare?" I asked, still foggy.

"About the accident."

I quickly remember and scoop her into a hug. I look at my clock. 3:29 in the morning.

"Can you stay with me until I fall asleep?" She asked.

I smiled, and followed her into my bed.

"This is more like it." I joked. She suddenly wrapped her arms around me.

"You know you aren't going anywhere right?"

I sighed. "I guess not huh?"

"Nope." She smiled, then kissed my neck and said "You're the best."

For some reason, I didn't fall asleep until long after her breathing slowed. But when I did, boy, did I sleep well.

_I can get used to this._


	26. Standing up for yourself

_Dang it…I forgot to close my blinds fully again. Stupid sun has to find the one spot that shines right into my eyes._

I blink sleepily, trying to clear up my vision. Looks like another hot day…wait. What is that sound? It sounds like…someone sleeping.

Then I remember. _Cat. She had that nightmare and asked me to stay with her until she fell asleep. Guess I never made it back to the futon._

I move to look at Cat, but I can't. I actually don't even have to turn at all. Her head has to be less than 7 inches away from my eyes. She is completely curled up to me, left leg wrapped around me.

_God, I hope my parents didn't see this. She's under the covers but just the sight of teenagers of the opposite sex sleeping together in the same bed would cause quite a commotion._

I recall telling them the abbreviated version of how Cat and I made up. Didn't mention the kissing, and it's a good thing. They knew Cat was a good girl and voiced their thoughts on our relationship. Mom was a bit slower to come back over than Dad. Dad asked me point blank if I liked her, just like Cat's father. The conversation went similar, except he didn't mention her waiting for me. Mom just said "you guys are always happier when you are together." Whatever that means. Probably mom speak for "ask her out!"

_Why are my cheeks and lips feeling so weird?_ I lick my lips, trying to get rid of the funny taste.

_Strawberries. Cat reapplied her lip gloss as we came home last night_. She didn't want to look bad in front of my parents; even though I told her they would be sleeping.

_She kissed me while I was sleeping. A lot._ I thought, putting a finger to my cheeks. I can kinda feel where she kissed me, seems like everywhere. _I wonder how she would react if I called her lipsy._ I grinned to myself.

_Probably she would almost die out of shock that I figured out she kissed me. _I wouldn't know if she hadn't reapplied all the lip gloss.

_And now most of it is on your face._

She gently shifted herself to pull me closer to her. She probably sleeps with a stuffed animal or something. I don't think I can escape her grip. The lower half of her body is practically on top of me, and her arms are linked around me. The least surprising thing about her position is her face. Buried into my neck and smiling. _Who falls asleep smiling?_

_Apparently Cat._

I decide, reluctantly to get up. I don't want my mom walking in to her baby boy in bed with a girl. I untangle myself from her best I can, and grab a stuffed animal from when Travis brought Lizzie over a couple of weeks ago. She is the cutest 6 month old baby ever. She loved the purple elephant so I've kept it near by ever since so when she comes over she can play around with it.

_Please don't be awake…_ I pray, it's realistic since its 8:30.

"Morning sweetie." Mom said the moment I emerged from my bedroom. My dad turned from the morning news to smile at me and waved.

_Crap. I forgot. It's Monday. Thanks summer, for making me forget what day of the week it is._

"How was last night?" Dad asked as I grabbed the OJ out of the fridge.

"It was fun." I say, hoping to avoid the topic of the lady in my bedroom.

_Sounds like a movie title._

My mom and dad trade knowing smiles.

"Sleep well?" Mom asked me.

_Arrgh…they are just winding me up…_

"Ok, I got in kinda late."

This time my parents just burst out laughing, with my dad falling out of his seat.

"Cat seemed comfortable." Mom said, smirking at me.

_Oh god, they did see. I had the door closed!_

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, your mother" Dad started, putting emphasis on mother "needed to get the vacuum cleaner and it was in your room and…"

"Mom!" I yelled, not caring how loud I was.

"It's ok sweetie. I saw the futon out with the sheets pulled back. She seemed very happy." Mom smiled, hugging me around the shoulders.

"She had a nightmare." I explained.

"And you became her teddy bear?"

"You could say that I guess. I never made it back to the futon though. Sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?" Dad asked me. "You just made her feel better."

Just then my bedroom door opened to Cat poking her head out, then quickly popping right back inside. My parents and I traded befuddled looks. I walked into my bedroom.

"Cat?"

She was fiddling with her bag, obviously trying to look busy.

"You know, they already know you're here." She turned around very fast.

"They're not mad?"

"No, they are about to go to work." I laughed.

"So they're not mad?"

"No, they aren't mad." I smiled. "They want to say hi before they leave."

_Knowing my parents, they do…_

"Ok." She said, and walked out to face the music.

She is really good at adapting to situations quickly apparently. She and my parents made small talk for awhile until my dad had to go. Then her and my mom went on and on and on for 30 minutes. Luckily, the bedroom thing didn't get mentioned and finally, mom left the house.

I retreated to my room to clean up while Mom and Cat were talking. I didn't know what we were going to do today so I was thinking of that when I walked out of my bathroom without a shirt, since I forgot one and…

"CAT!" I fell over, shocked.

She was looking at her pearphone. "What Robb—" she turned around, her eyes started flying everywhere. I immediately went red. She responded my grabbing my pillow and shoving her face into it.

I quickly pulled on my shirt and started hoping Cat wasn't laughing. The results of the gym are starting to show but nothing impressive yet.

As I approached Cat I heard her say something over and over into the pillow.

"I'm sorry Robbie!" over and over and over. I gently pulled her up by her shoulders.

Again "I'm sorry Robbie! It's just I…"

I hugged her softly "No, it's more my fault, I was surprised you were in here."

She looked mortified, and started messing with my pillow.

"What do you want to do today?" I asked.

"Well…the others said they were going to Typhoon Harbor today to escape from the heat. They said we could come if we wanted."

_They know we're together? Wait…Beck. Damn it! BECK!_

"Ok, they said us together?" I asked, trying to sound surprised.

"Yeah. Weird, maybe they saw us at the movie?" She wondered aloud.

_I am going to have a word with him today…_

"Maybe, I don't know. Hey, you hungry? I already ate." I changed the subject.

"Kinda."

"What do Cat's do for breakfast?" I asked, smiling.

"Cat food?"

I sighed, "I meant Cat, like you sweetie?"

Her face said it all. Surprise. "OH! Like me…yogurt or something light."

"Ok, I know there's some yogurt in the fridge if you want some. You can have more if you want…" I offered. I'm always worried that she doesn't eat enough. Never takes more than what is offered and usually never finishes it.

"Ok, thanks Robbie." She said, walking off towards the kitchen still in her pajamas. Which by the way is a pink tank top with PINK sweatpants. Oddly enough, she seems completely comfortable with me seeing her this…exposed? I don't know what the right word is. But it doesn't seem like much for a girl trotting around in another guy's house. Wait. I just used the word trotting. Man, my parents are starting to rub off on me…

Well, Typhoon Harbor isn't the worst way to spend a day. I had a blast last time and it should be fun this time. I'm kind of apprehensive about Beck and Tori, but they can go jump off a cliff, Cat and I are comfortable with where we are. At least I am, you never know for sure with Cat.

"Whose ready for some fun in the scorching sun?"

"Is it someone famous?" Cat innocently asked with yogurt and spoon in hand.

I smiled. "No, I am, I'm hoping you'll come along."

"To Typhoon Harbor?"

"No, Mars." I deadpanned.

"Phooey, I wanted to go to Typhoon Harbor." She frowned.

"I was joking Cat, of course we're going to Typhoon Harbor." I told her.

Jesus, I screwed up again! Cat's eyes quickly filled with tears and a few fell on her face.

"Why did you lie to me Robbie? I trust you…I'm sorry I wasn't feeling like doing more last night…" She trailed off, wringing her hands.

"Cat…I—wha— I don't want to do that…man, please Cat, I don't want to do…that."

She sniffled a bit, apparently unmoved. I approached her, and she turned her shoulder to me.

"Cat…c'mon. I was being silly. Joking around…" I smiled. Nothing. Just icy silence. "Cat?"

I might as well have been talking to the sink, for all the reaction I got.

I scooped up my bag. "I'll just be waiting in the car whenever you are ready." I quietly retreated to the car.

_I am an Idiot. You have been tempting fate and you knew one of these days she wasn't going to forgive you quite as easily._

Cat hopped in and threw her own bag into the back. She had another yogurt and still was giving me the silent treatment.

The drive there is about 15 minutes, and that had to be the worst 15 minutes of my LIFE. Not one word. Not even a syllable. Just me strumming my thumbs against the wheel and the "thwipp" sound of her pulling the spoon out of her mouth after a bite of yogurt. That and the hum of the AC.

Thank goodness we're here now. Hopefully she'll lighten up. I really hope so—WHOA!

Cat yanked me around the side of the car and sat me down right on the pavement.

"What's going on?" I asked, actually scared.

"Can you do something for me?" She asked, face neutral.

"Sure, what's up?"

"Robbie… I don't know whether it's been how the last couple of months have gone, but I've been kinda looking at myself more like…well, older. I like the funny jokes and stuff. I just want to be loved and treated more like an adult. I'm not excusing what happened with Colton, but he treated me like my age, everywhere."

_Wow, wasn't expecting that…_

"What are you asking me to do sweetheart?"

"Treat me like I'm older. Everywhere. Like just now, at breakfast. I felt like I went right back to kindergarten with your attempt to get me to smile. I appreciate it Robbie, but I'm not going to hand that to you so easily."

I opened my mouth to agree, but she covered my mouth. "No, not yet. I'm not done." I leaned back and shut my mouth, folded my hands and waited for her to continue.

_Now I feel like I'm back in Kindergarten._

"That goes for when we're alone too Robbie. I love your tight hugs. Put some of that into the way you hold me when we fall asleep. Hold me tight when we're…kissing…for a long time. I want YOU Robbie. I completely trust you. Please don't be afraid to hurt me. I know you don't want to break my heart, but when I do show how much I care about you, just show me the same passion. Please?"

"Sure…I…you said everything that needs to be said. I'll do better. Promise." I said, getting to my feet.

She smiled, and hugged me. I pulled her closer than usual, and I swear I heard something pop. I loosen slightly when I heard that, and she backed up.

"You retreated." She stated.

"Yeah, I heard your ribs pop." I defended myself.

"No, that was your back Robbie."

"Still, that was better wasn't it?" I asked, thinking _My back?_

"I'll be the judge of that." She pulled me into her arms again, grinding her…you know what I mean…into me and groaned.

_What the hell is going on…?_

She let me go. I glanced at her funny.

_What did you just do?_

"I want that to happen more often." She said. "C'mon, let's go!" grabbing her bag and starting towards the park gates.

I assumed the others were already inside so I paid and we happily walked inside the park. I can already see a lot of new stuff that wasn't here before…either that or I wasn't looking for it because I can see the slide from last time, and there are at least 4 that are now taller.

We both retreated to the changing rooms. I changed pretty quickly but when I emerged, Cat was waiting for me with something in her hand.

"C'mere." She said quickly and pulled me into the 'family' restroom.

"What are you doing now—"

"Relax, I'm not going to jump your bones in here…too noisy. Anyway…" She untied the top half of her bikini. "Can you get my back please?" She handed some suntan lotion while holding the straps with the other hand. I moved farther behind her as the visual started to get…a little too much for comfort right now. I did take the lotion and started rubbing it onto her skin.

_Wow…so soft. How do girls get their skin so soft? It must be some DNA thing, boys don't…never mind._

"Ohh….ummmm..yeah…" Cat groaned, smiling seductively.

_Halo…think about halo…nothing overtly sexual there…_

"Ok, you're good." I said, handing back the bottle. She ran out like the room was some kind of torture chamber.

"Man!" Cat said, once we had sat back down to wait on the others.

"What's wrong?"

"Face." She replied, handing me back the bottle, sitting on my lap AND closing her eyes. I glanced around before I rubbed the oil on her face.

It's amazing how trusting she is, after the two jerks before me…wait. I'm not dating her.

_Right…_

I finished her nose last, emphasizing the teeny tiny freckles and pinching her nose to top it all off. She hopped off me, half looking mad, half laughing. "Robbie!"

"Couldn't resist. Are we done with this?"

"Yeah. Can you put it with your stuff and grab your phone? I want to beat that dumb app this time." She grumbled.

Funny thing is, she bought it herself for her phone. She never plays it on hers whenever I'm around, it's always mine.

We messed around on that app for about 5 minutes, before Cat went and grabbed my phone to call Jade. She didn't stop playing mine, just leaning her head against mine.

Finally "Hey Jade, where are you guys?...Oh, ok…see you in a sekunden"

"They just got here…oh there they are!" She told me, hopping off my lap to hug Jade.

"Hey stranger, what's up?" Andre asked, giving me a bro hug. Beck smiled at me while Tori avoided my gaze. Jade then promptly whacked my elbow and smiled while Cat hugged the others.

"Did they have a whole bunch of construction or is it just me?" Beck asked, glancing at the new attractions. 

"That's what I thought." I replied.

"Hey Cat, did you see the—"

"Look at the Sno-Cone stand! " Cat exclaimed, making a mad dash to the stand. Tori followed her, smiling.

"I gotta get a Sno-Cone. It's too hot man!" Andre said, mainly to himself. I glanced at the stand; it was advertising two new flavors, Fat Shake and Red Velvet cupcake.

"You know, you can admit to dating her. We're all cool with it." Jade said, Beck nodding at her side.

"We're not dating." I firmly said, looking at Cat's bouncing around waiting for her Sno-Cone.

"We saw you two coming out of the bathroom." Jade said.

"And the sun tan lotion.." Beck said, smiling as he trailed off.

"Very sexy…" Jade quipped, looking satisfied.

"How did you guys see that?" I demanded, not hiding my fury.

"Bushes." Beck said, pointing to the bushes behind him. They indeed had a perfect view of where Cat and I were sitting.

"We seriously don't care if you guys like each other. I think—"

_I have had more than enough of this._

"You should be quiet. You two don't even have yourselves figured out! I told you. Cat and I ARE NOT GOING OUT. How about you figure out how things are going to work between the two of you and come back then? I don't have to follow your every word, you know. Have you ever thought that could have been how I "threw Cat against the wall?" You know all about that, right Beck? Keep your mouth shut next time. I didn't tell you so it could be broadcast everywhere like a juicy rumor." I snapped, walking away to put my phone along with Cat's in my locker. Jade whispered harshly "What on earth did you do?" When I reemerged Beck looked very sheepish.

"What just happened?" Cat asked quietly as we headed off to the canoe white water. The others were a step or two ahead, not looking back to us.

"Beck and Jade, along with Tori think we're going out."

Cat looks madder than I've ever seen her before.

"I'll talk to them after we finish this ride. Stay close to me on this one alright?" She said, looking like she could breathe fire. I have to say, she does have a temper, but she disguises it well.

The white water was hilarious, everyone got soaked, and it was so rough we also all fell out. Andre and I excused ourselves to the restroom in a deserted part of the park while the others hung back.

After finishing inside, Andre and I are headed back outside, but…I hear raised voices.

Make that voice. Singular. One. Cat.

"Yeah! I said it! I LOVE HIM!He doesn't feel ready, doesn't want to break my heart! That's the ONLY reason we aren't like you guys!AAARRGH!" She yelled. I quickly reemerge before things can get ugly, only to have Cat roughly grab my arm and march me towards the slide from last time. She grabbed ahold of my hand while in sight of the others.

"Boy, never knew you had such a temper sunshine." I said, awestruck. She blushed.

_Those freckles…why do I just love them so much?_

"I forgot, why did you nickname me sunshine again?" Cat asked.

"You always brighten my day." I smiled, and the one I received in return could have powered LA for a week.

"You can call me that more…I really like it. It's just for me. Sweetie and sweetheart don't have the same feel as yours does. It makes me feel loved."

"Maybe that's because I love you." I said.

_I said it! YES!_

She smiled at me, and kissed my cheek. "Doesn't count." She whispered. "Can you use sunshine more often please?"

"Sure sunshine." I said, reaching the start of the slide. Cat and I crawled into the start and waited for the fun to begin.

She adjusted herself against me, positioned much differently than the last time we went on this, when she was fearful. Now she's confident, and apparently in love with me. She looks like she wouldn't mind at all if the water stopped halfway through the ride and we got "stuck". Her look in her eyes is….powerful.

_Cat Valentine is in love with me. ME! I can't believe it!_ I thought, as the ride started. She clung to me in a good way, screaming happily the entire time. She let out a deep groan as we reached the end of the ride, causing my stomach to flip at least twice.

_Where is this coming from?_

We walked away from the slide to find Andre, Beck, Jade and Tori all looking apprehensively at

The Big Drop.

Well, that's the name of the ride. You start at about the same height as the last slide, but after 30 or so feet it just drops forever until you hit what looks like a waterproof version of the top of a trampoline.

I think it looks like a lot of fun.

Everyone else looks intimidated by the size and drop.

I started up the stairs, wondering why there wasn't a line, like there was for most of the park. I was accompanied by only one person.

"I thought you hated high rides and heights?" I asked.

"Yeah…you make it better. Don't ask please." Cat said, looking unsure while we waited for the 5 or 6 people in front of us.

"Ok, I'll leave it be. Why are you here then?"

"So if you need me, I'll be right there." She immediately responded.

I smiled at her. "Thanks." We were up next.

"Who's next? One at a time please." The attendant said.

I moved forward, but Cat jumped in front of me. "I'll go."

The attendant was surprised, but loaded her into the staging area. That's right, loaded. The start looks like something out of a movie.

They bar holding her back moved, and wow, she was out of sight fast. I peeked over the railing to see if I could see her drop, but found a sign in my face.

"You seriously don't want to see the drop. It will scare you." Read the sign.

"Don't worry, she'll be fine." The attendant soothed, while loading me in. I was not swayed. This must have been how Cat felt last time we were here.

Man, that drop…is amazing. The slide part is generic, but it gets you going pretty quickly and the drop kind of shoots you out. You can see the entire park, even the people in line for the drop while you're falling. But it's over too soon. My final assessment? Ok.

The rest of the day went well. The other rides needed some work, and I'm sure with a bit of time this summer, they'll live up to the thrills and surprises of the old park.

Cat and I left the group about 3:30 to grab a pseudo dinner, and then wait until we couldn't hold off her father anymore.

"That was yummy, thanks." Cat said, inspecting for a hidden message in her fortune cookie.

"No problem, glad you liked it." I said, referring to a Chinese place that I've been going to ever since I remember. The owner is a really nice guy and saw Cat and I and gave me 20% off. I don't know if all teenage couples are getting the looks, the smiles we have been getting today, but they have been everywhere.

Like always, I pulled up to her house way too soon. She had been holding my hand ever since putting Beck, Jade and Tori in their place, at first out of defiance, then like a giddy schoolgirl, pulling her best friend around that looked reluctant but in the end really wanted to be with her.

Funny how in reality, that's not that far from the truth.

She hugged me one last time before I dropped her off. She looked miserable, like she didn't want to leave me.

"Hey, don't be so sad. You can always come around, I don't care." I said, not feeling so great about the goodbye part. She buried her head into my chest and said undistinguishable words, then I handed the best girl in the world back to her family. Which I can guarantee doesn't love her like I do. I still am apprehensive after dinner with them a while back.

When I got back home, I realized something.

_Wait…are we going out after all?_


	27. WakeUp Call

The last few weeks have been a learning experience in both the Valentine and Shapiro households. For example a few things we have learned:

Summer is a time for fun, not work.

The best time to see a movie is after 10.

ALWAYS leave the door unlocked. Otherwise someone might sneak in the living room to the sight of you dancing to Thriller.

Teenagers do everything together. Usually in groups of 4-5. But the later in the day, the number dwindles.

I am apparently a comfortable pillow.

Don't open bedroom doors until the occupants do so.

Needless to say, it has been a nice start to summer. The group has already seen a lot of each other, usually 2-4 times a week. Most of the time we hang at someone's place, since everyone's parents work with the exception being Andre's grandmother. Who I swear is crazy. But usually when we go out it's usually to Typhoon Harbor or the neighboring Terror Island. It's a theme park that lives up to its name by occupying almost the entire island. It's also pretty good, so that helps too.

On to the relationships! Beck and Tori are on cruise control. The best comparison would be ironically, Jade and Beck except Tori is, if anything, nicer to everyone. Andre has been hitting the DJ scene so he's getting tons of girls. He keeps on saying "I'm a one girl guy, and I haven't found her yet." He's a very solid person. Jade has been kind of, sort of, maybe talking to some college guy? I found the picture when she got a text from him while she was in my kitchen getting something, I forget, but she wasn't in the room. But a pic of her and some guy in jeans and a tie popped up. They clearly adore each other, the smiles prove it. I'm cool with it; I just like seeing Jade happy. If she and this guy keep those same smiles then full speed ahead, by all means.

And drum roll please….Cat and I! As you probably already guessed most of the things learned apply to us. Yes, there kind of is an 'us'. Allow me to explain in sort of a roundabout way. Our weekly movie nights have been scheduled for Wednesdays, at 7, that's usually when I pick up Cat. On the rare occasion Cat comes to me, but that's rare. It was hilarious to see my parents' reaction to see the SUV pull up and Cat hop out of the driver's seat. Complete disbelief. She finds it funny. I think it's a statement about her. Haven't nailed it down yet, right now it's "Don't judge Cat by her appearance". On the subject of our parents, they are 110% convinced we're dating. They are really laid back, hence the 10 movie rule ahem…preference. Our "reason" is that you encounter fewer annoying people that late, and they didn't argue with that. Once both sets of parents said we were "dating" I pulled them aside and informed them of the 6 month compromise. They seemed pleased, but both said we were pseudo dating. Not that they didn't like it, both love the idea, and how we're handling it.

Another staple is Cat staying at my house on Wednesday nights due to our "preference". Again, both parents don't mind, but things were kind awkward at first, but Thursday is the morning my parents go in at 7 so that's "one reason" we chose Wednesdays. Not that they know that of course.

We actually have seen Andre with some girl, or Beck and Tori together on Wednesday night a few times. Beck and Tori actually sit with us and it's always a good time. Cat seems to feel a bit pressured by their blatant lovey doveyness and wants to get a larger bowl of popcorn whenever they do sit with us. Things haven't gotten awkward yet; the only possible time would have been when Beck and Tori got comfy and Cat subconsciously did the same thing, causing both of them to look at me, eyes wide. They don't know about the "compromise" as I call it, and that is how it is going to stay.

Last night was our movie night, and she finally let me see Green Lantern, which she commented "has to be the worst superhero movie they've made in 15 years". High praise don't you think? It wasn't great, but I would say Spiderman 3 was a lot more disappointing.

Currently I'm on the futon, in between sleep and consciousness. Cat is sleeping peacefully on my bed. I was right about the stuffed animal. That is, when she doesn't use me as her pillow. Again, another benefit of my parents going to work at 7 AM, no disruptions. Cat prefers sleeping with me over the stuffed animal, but I usually restrict it to once every three times she's over so my parents don't get nervous about us being hormonal teenagers. She actually wanted to see a scary movie once just to be with me, but she admitted it afterward and that's when I made the 1-3 rule.

This summer has been great, and it's even better because it isn't going by too fast and—

"AAAHHHH!" A girl screamed, sounding very close. A door closed and I heard my mom yell "Kimberly!"

My sister. The sister that goes to USC and never comes home. She came home Tuesday, and don't get me wrong, I missed her, but she's changed a bit and left before I went to get Cat so I'm betting she needed something from in here and saw Cat in my bed, which has to be some sort of shock.

Nevertheless, right after the door closed Cat and I are both on our feet, she clad in shorts and a tank top looking upset her beauty sleep got disrupted.

I poke my head out my door to see both of my parents looking very upset with my sister.

_Good._

"What just happened?" I asked, voice sounding sleepy, even though I've kinda been up for awhile.

"See? You did wake them up!" My mom exclaimed at my sister, who for the early hour looks like she's about to leave.

"Your sister" Dad spoke up, emphasis on sister "for reasons unknown wandered into your room and saw Cat. Morning sweetie." Dad waved at her, who responded in kind.

Cat leaned on my shoulder. "Why?" I asked pointedly. I glance at the clock. "It's 6 in the freaking morning in the summer. Why are you awake?" I asked, looking at my _wonderful_ sister.

"Uhh…" Was her response. I saw shaving cream and a feather on the counter.

"Mom." I simply said, pointing at the materials.

"Kimberly Renee! You woke your brother and his friend up at 6 in the morning in June just to prank him?"

Cat glanced at me, and grabbed my hand.

"Do you have anything to say?" Dad asked incredulously.

"Whose she?"

"She's a friend of Robbie's and a wonderful girl." My dad said. Cat blushed and smiled shyly.

My mom turned to us. "Sorry about her Cat, you guys can go back to sleep if you want."

"Ok, good morning Mr. and Mrs. Shapiro!" Cat said, pulling me back into my room sand shutting the door.

She turned to me when it shut. "You have a sister?"

"How did I get you the sweats when you came over, rain soaked a couple of months ago?" I responded.

"Oh…" She mumbled, pulling me towards my bed.

"I don't care what you say. You're with me until 10:30." Cat said, yanking me onto my bed and pulling herself to me. I quickly fell back asleep luckily; I would have killed Kimberly if I couldn't fall back asleep.

Ok…I just woke up again…but that's ok since its 10:08. Why did I wake up? Someone's tracing figure eights into my back with her nails.

"Having fun?" I quietly ask.

"You're up!" She happily said, voice lowered.

"Yeah…did you fall back asleep?" I hoped she did.

"Uh huh. It was nice. But I woke up a few minutes ago and got bored." She said. I flipped over to face her.

Her cheeks were tinged pink and she was smiling shyly. "Bored?"

"I don't know…it's hard to describe."

"Handsy." I smirked.

"Is that a bad thing?" She wondered, looking apprehensive.

"No, do you want me to flip over?" I offered.

"You can if you want…" I turned back over; her voice seems different this morning. It's a good different though. She resumed her figure eights and started some massage thing.

"What are you doing?" I asked. She was running her index fingers in patterns from my shoulders to my ribs repeatedly.

"I googled some comfortable massages since you don't like normal massages."

"Well, whatever it is its working."

"Mmhmm." Was her response, then she stopped and climbed over me. I moved back so she could have some space and not fall off, but she just moved closer.

"Hug?" She asked, eyes wide, but tear free. I pulled her into a gentle hug.

"I'm not feeling a strong hug this early in the morning sunshine." I said.

"That's ok, this is perfectly fine." She said, head on my shoulder.

Both of us didn't move, but didn't speak either. She's never been this close to me for this long ever, so I think something's up.

I want to speak up, but don't know how to phrase my question so I stay silent with her legs and arms wrapped around me.

"You're warm." She mumbled.

"Good, if I wasn't, I'd be worried."

She smiled at me, and didn't look away.

_Finally, I have an opportunity to question her._

"You ok sweetheart?" I ask.

She blinked, and then shook her head. "Am I too close?" She wondered, pulling back. She tried to let go of me but I stopped her.

"No, you're fine."

_Tell me what's wrong._

She sighed, and leaned into me. "Are your parents ashamed of me?"

"What? NO! No, no, no! They love you Cat! Just the other day they were telling me how wonderful you are. I swear, they want to adopt you as their own daughter." I stopped speaking for a moment. "Why do you ask that? You know they love you."

"Your sister. Why did she scream when she saw me? Am I ugly Robbie?"

My mouth fell open. _Cat, ugly? NO way!_

"No, you're beautiful sunshine. You are gorgeous. She screamed because she came to prank me but found you in my bed. That would shock just about everyone."

Cat smiled, looking like she got some of her confidence back. "Well, she should have knocked."

I smiled and hugged her. "Yeah, but that would have ruined the prank."

I wanted to say something else, but she kissed me lightly. "That's all I needed to hear. C'mon. Let's go eat." She said.

I barely got up before she tackled me back down and kissed me roughly this time. I have followed thru on my promise to treat her like any other girl, and she has reciprocated that in her kisses, which are lengthening substantially. At last count she had me under her lips for 4 minutes. That's getting close to make out territory people.

She finally separated from me, and we headed to the kitchen. My sister was watching TV in the same outfit as earlier.

"Morning Kimbo Slice." I said, smirking at her glare. She hates that nickname. I messed around, not really doing anything in particular as opposed to Cat, who seemed to be doing everything at light speed.

Kimberly glanced from Cat, to me and smiled.

Doorbell just rung. Who would be calling this early, on a Thursday in the middle of summer. My back's to the door, which is a hallway away so I think Kimberly got it.

"Cat?" What are you doing here right now?" Jade yelled, obviously surprised.

"What are you doing here?" Cat shot right back, sounding displeased. I turned to Kimberly looked surprised at the confrontation.

"Why are you in pajamas? Where's your bra?" Jade asked, incredulous.

_Oh crap. She doesn't have it on. I never saw the strap, and she hates strapless._

Kimberly looked at me evilly. Her face said it all._ You dirty little boy._

I swear, nothing happened.

Cat briskly walked in, past all of us, and into my room. Jade followed her, glaring at me and slammed my door.

"Oh damn" Kimberly said.

"My thoughts exactly." I replied, resuming my attempt to find jam for my soon to be toasted toast.

"What did you guys do in there…?" Kimberly prodded, and literally poking my arm. I glared at her.

"Absolutely nothing. I swear. Unless a hug is bad."

_And a 5 minute make out session on your bed!_

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

_God, she's annoying and arrogant. Why is she my sister?_

"Don't whatever me, you woke us up." I retorted.

"Yeah, you guys looked too cute about 8 this morning."

I whipped around, butter knife in hand. "WHAT?"

"You guys were all cuddled up together. It was so cute! I even got pictures!" She waved her pearphone right in front of my face.

I swore under my breath and returned to my toast. Then, Cat and Jade came out of my bedroom.

"Kimberly?" Jade asked, rushing forward to hug her.

"Jadey! Is that you?" She replied, hugging her.

"You've grown so much!" Kimberly continued.

"Yeah, I haven't seen you in forever!" Jade said, smiling as Cat walked towards me. I noticed still no bra. At least not one visible.

"Yeah, why not?" Kimberly asked, as Cat pulled two yogurts out of the fridge.

"Actually, after Robbie left Stephens we didn't talk for like 4 years, and just reconnected a few weeks ago." Jade said. (A/N: Listen to Liz Gillies's interview with Zang radio on YouTube or something. She talks in the exact same way Jade does here. Helps me, idk about you guys)

"That's awesome, is everything going well?"

"Yeah, we kinda just picked up where we left off." Jade said nonchalantly, glancing at me.

"Nice…what do you know about these two?" Kimberly asked, gesturing to Cat and I, who were eating.

" I don't know actually. They met a few years ago and have slowly been getting closer and closer." Jade said, smiling at me. I was looking at Cat, who seemed thunderstruck that I met her 5 long years ago. Yeah, I remember.

"Well, they can't get any closer than this morning." Kimberly stated.

Jade looked deranged. "WHAT?" Cat and I jumped back in surprise.

"They slept together this morning." Jade went white.

I finished my toast and threw it away. Apparently, Jade was waiting for me to finish and wordlessly yanked me into my room by my shirt.

"What are you doing?" She demanded, blocking the door.

"Standing here in front of you." I flippantly replied.

"Don't give me lip Robbie, sarcasm doesn't become you." She said darkly.

"Jade, I asked you last time I saw you. Back off. Cat and I are doing this our way. We're telling you the truth about everything we feel comfortable telling you guys."

"Why are you withholding information Robbie? All I do is care about both of you, and now you're sleeping together?"

"Jade, because you guys are so pushy. I don't know if you and Beck slept together. I assume you did, but I don't know. We just want some space."

She seemed to accept that.

"Ok…so you're telling the truth about you guys not dating?"

"Yes Jade, we're between best friends and something more. If we had reached that next level, something might have happened this morning. But it didn't."

"Why didn't she have a bra on then?" She asked, not angrily, but sounding curious.

"I don't know, I didn't even notice until you yelled about it." I admitted.

Whatever I said there, it didn't go over well with her.

She got right up in my face and said "Robbie, you convinced me about you and Cat. I'm cool with you guys being whatever you guys are to each other. But I'm giving you this one warning. Be careful with her. You screw her, you break her heart, you do anything that harms her future? You will pay. I will make sure of that. I love you both. I can't stand by and let one hurt the other. Now, can you please leave, I need to tell Cat the same thing."

"One thing." I said. This disturbing thought has been bouncing around in my head for a couple of days, and Jade walked dead into the middle of it. She nodded, waiting for me to continue.

"I know you can beat me up, never speak to me again, all kinds of horrible stuff. I'm close to you Jade, not as close as we used to be, but we're getting there. Think about this." I lowered my voice so Cat couldn't possibly hear. "You and Cat are like sisters. What if she breaks my heart? What are you going to do then?"


	28. Relapse

The first sign popped up two or three days ago. In her defense, she didn't know I was out at 1 on a Sunday. I was at a stoplight, relaxed, happy, content with everything. It's summer, why worry? I saw a Cadillac SUV pull up a car length behind me and to the left. I looked in my mirror to see if it was Cat, if it was I was going to wave. In the passengers seat was a guy. Looks like an athlete. He and Cat were laughing and talking it up.

_She's wound me up again._

I was driving down to Jade's for lunch with her family. I haven't seen them since we stopped speaking all that time ago so I really wanted to see them. I just couldn't follow thru after seeing that dumb SUV. I sent out a fake excuse and just drove around for hours. Nowhere to go, out of road to run on, I don't know how to describe it.

I had been reluctant to give her the keys to my heart at first, but the way things have been going I had started to hand them over. Now this. I've said this many a time; I don't have a word to describe my feelings.

Then Tuesday, her father called me.

"Robbie, can you come over? I need to speak to you one on one."

I drove to his home, where the SUV was gone and Cat's father was waiting for me.

"Son, I owe you a apology."

"Why?"

"I was wrong about my daughter."

"Please explain."

"She brought a guy over yesterday. It was pretty clear that they liked each other and probably romantically. I was wrong about her loving you. To be blunt, she straight up played you, not that you are at fault for anything."

I sighed heavily, and ran my hand through my hair. "So she likes him, and has been stringing me along?"

"Exactly, I'm sorry."

"I understand sir, what do you think I should do next?"

"I'll speak to her today about it, and ask her to tell you when you guys are at your movie. If she does, great. Hopefully you'll talk it out. I would completely understand if you didn't speak for a while. It's probably healthy for you if you don't."

"So basically allow me time to piece myself back together?"

"Yes."

"And if she doesn't do as you ask when we're at the movie?"

"You could say you know, and lay it out there. How you feel. Don't sugarcoat it, she's already done this once. Frankly I'm amazed you aren't more upset." 

"I'm just kind of numb."

"I understand. I can notify your friends if you would like and ask them to prevent her from talking to you for awhile. Do you object to that?"

"No. Can you tell them after I bring her back from the movie?"

The Neighborhood watch relented on the 12 curfew a couple of Wednesdays ago.

"Sure."

Honestly, if she doesn't tell me by the time I pull up to her house after the movie on Wednesday I'll basically stop the charade.

Wednesday came faster than even I expected. I found myself running over what I would say after I pulled into her driveway. Hate to say it, but there isn't a snowball's chance in hell that she is going to tell me. At least I don think so.

Things basically went how I expected them too. She was perky and excited when I picked her up. Her father played his normal role, but when I looked back as I left he looked tortured. He must feel terrible, to speak his mind, but to have her betray his words like that. Ouch.

I don't even know what movie I paid to see. I know it was animated, and I mostly just yessed her the entire night. I don't see any point in putting meaningless words into a pointless cause.

When we were leaving I said that her dad asked me to bring her home tonight, apparently something was going on tomorrow. In reality, he told me after I left with Cat that I bring her home hell or high water. She got really excited as the prospect of the mystery activity tomorrow and babbled about it the rest of the drive to her house.

"Ok, we're here." I said, stopping in her driveway. She didn't move from her seat.

A moment passed.

"I need to talk to you." We both said at the same time, turning to face the other.

"You first." Cat told me.

"You don't want me to go first." I told her. She bit the bottom of he lip like she does when she's nervous.

"No, talk. I'm listening." She said.

"Ok, I saw you a few days ago."

"What do you mean Robbie?"

"You were at 249, sitting at the light in your SUV. I saw you. I know about the guy Cat."

She started to say something but no words came out.

"What's his name?" I asked in a even voice.

"… His name is…Colby."

"Is he an athlete?"

"Yes, how do you know?"

"I told you Cat. I saw you on Sunday at the light on 249." She simply looked straight ahead .

"Robbie, it's not exactly what you think—"

"I don't want to hear excuses Cat."

She abruptly shut her mouth.

"Just let me ask you a few things. Ok?" She nodded.

"Have you known him for awhile?"

She shook her head.

"Have you kissed him?"

She nodded her head this time.

"Did he actually ask you out on a date?"

Again, she nodded her head. "Tomorrow."

This time, I shook my head. "Sex?"

She shook her head.

"It's not about that Robbie. I'm looking for a relationship. Why do you think it's about sex?"

"Because I don't understand you Cat. You do what you did for about a month and a half, and then another guy comes onto the scene. It's like you don't care."

"I care—"

"I can't say I believe you. People that care don't do what you've done Cat. Look at the situations you have put me in. How am I going to tell my parents? My sister? How are Beck and all of them going to react? Jade? Think about her Cat, she loves us both. She is in a no win situation. All those people that thought we were going out, how will they react when they see you draped on the arm of another guy?"

Tears are silently falling down her face. All I see is liquid guilt.

"What about movie night?" She whispered.

"Take Colby. He'll love it. I don't want to participate anymore."

The car was silent for awhile. "Please get out of the car Cat." I asked, starting the engine again. She stepped out and shut the door. I pulled out and drove home, to the eventuality of a sleepless night.

Cat's father followed thru on his end of the deal. He messaged me saying he sent out the messages, and he told Cat not to contact me. She apparently did not like hearing that, and stormed off.

_Beck- Tori is staying the night with me man. We both got the text about Cat. Can't imagine how you feel man._

_Andre- I just don't know man. Whenever I said we will never understand her, this isn't what I meant. Call if you need to man._

_Jade- You were right…_

At about 4 I started messing around on halo, and that passed the time until about 6:30.

"Hey! What are you doing up? Where's Cat?" Mom asked, smiling.

"Actually, I need to talk to you about that." I walked with her to the table, waited for my father to get there, and then I laid it out.

Needless to say, they were in shock. Disbelief, really. Kimberly poked her head out and heard a part of it, then shut her door and let out what sounded like a sob.

"I don't want her back inside this house again unless you say its ok Robbie." My dad said, face set.

"I'm fine with that." I said, hugging my mom.

Basically the rest of the day I stuck to my room, played around on my Xbox and texted my friends plus Cat's father.

Apparently, Cat dragged Colby into the house, where Mr. Valentine was in his words 'polite, but short'. The meeting didn't last very long he mentioned also, saying he thought they got the message. He asked me to tell him whenever I was going out so he could do his best to prevent Cat from reaching me.

About 9:30, we finished dinner, and I said I was going for a walk, and that I would be back about midnight. My parents agreed, and Kimberly hugged me, displaying the first emotion towards me all day.

I typed out a message for Mr. Valentine, Beck, Tori, Jade and Andre saying where I was going.

_I'm going to walk in the park.-Robbie_

_Sent to: Andre H., Beck O., Tori V., Cat V. David V. Jade W._

Cat POV

"Bye Colby!" I said, kissing his cheek as he hopped out of the front seat. He waved goodbye as I pulled out and started back home.

New message! Yay! I love new messages!

_Robbie: I'm going to walk in the park. _

Yes! I'm out of the house and I know where Robbie is! Now daddy can't stop me from talking to him! I wish I was somewhere closer to the park, but Colby lives a long way away, so it's going to take awhile.

Yay! I'm here. I don't see Robbie's car though. Maybe I came to the wrong park. I think he was talking about the park right down the road from his house.

This is weird, I don't see him. I walked everywhere around the park, and I saw his car but—wait, there he is!

I started quickly walking over to Robbie, what am I going to say? He doesn't want excuses. I'm not making excuses, but telling him the—

"Don't even think about it Cat." A deep voice said behind me. I turned around really fast to see Beck leaning against a tree, and Tori stepped out of the tree's shadow.

"What? I need to talk to him." I told him, turning back around to find Andre in front of me.

"No, you need to stay away from him for awhile." He said. Jade stepped out and was looking right at me. She didn't say anything; all she did was cry quietly. I didn't even hear her crying, just the tears.

"Why?" I asked.

"You need to let him put his heart back together and move on Cat." Tori said.

"Move on?" I squeaked. _I don't want him to move on._

"Yeah, meet other people. Other girls." Beck simply said.

"I want to talk to Robbie, so that's what I'm going to—" I started, turning and stepping in Robbie's direction but a strong pair of hands grabbed my by the shoulders.

"Andre!" "Let— Me— GO!" I yelled, each word punctuated by a kick to his shins. He didn't release me, and Beck stepped in front of me.

"You're not going to see Robbie. You can kick and scream all you want. You aren't strong enough, and if he sees all of us here, he's going to go somewhere that isn't as safe." He said.

I kept kicking Andre's legs, but he lifted me up and I started missing his legs. "What do you mean not as safe?" I asked.

"Not as safe for him. Like the bridge." The look in Tori's eyes told me what he meant.

_The Golden Gate Bridge. San Francisco isn't that far away after all._

"You think he's going to...jump?" _I don't want him to jump. I need Robbie._

"Not really, but I want to stop him if he tries to get there."

I stopped kicking, and Andre put me down, but didn't let go of me. I really don't want Robbie to…

Tears just start streaming down my cheeks as the thought of Robbie not being here anymore ran thru my mind. No more hugs, no more movies…no more anything…

"Cat, you have to make a choice at some point. That's why you can't see him. He's got to make his own choice. To stay on the path he's on, or to move on. It's his decision, and nobody should be able to influence that decision." Beck said. Andre let me go finally but I didn't move.

"What's the choice I have to make?" I asked quietly.

Beck looked me right in my face. "What Robbie means to you. Not now, not a month from now, not even a year from now. What does he mean to you forever?"

Everyone was quiet, and I swear I heard some music going on in the background where Robbie is.

"_You gave me all your love…and all I said was goodbye…"_


	29. Tough Thinking

(A/N: OMG! I cannot thank you guys enough for all the support and loyal readers of this story! I was just messing around on the internet and was reading about cabbie possibilities when I got a invite to a C2 group on Cabbie! Then, on a whim I went to the Cabbie page on .com. Well my story is on there with a direct link! You guys are so amazing and supportive and I can't say thank you enough. You might not care, but some have asked for my Facebook (only to certain people). I will happily give out my twitter (JFeldmann93) and definitely will follow anyone who dm's me saying they're a reader Thanks again!)

Crossroads really do suck. Left or right. Usually after you make a bad decision you can go back. But that's when you're driving. I'm at a crossroads of a sort with Cat, and I can see two decisions. I could go out and find another girl to fall for. Or I could have faith in Cat, trust that this is a temporary thing, and keep a low profile for a while so that everything and everyone can settle down.

It has to be the toughest decision someone could make at my age. You're making a decision on what you really think about someone for a long period of time. Funny how it's easy to fall for someone and it's almost impossible to let them go.

I don't really think I'm even in the toughest situation this time around. I can't imagine what it is like for Jade. I can just move on to another girl, but Jade, she and Cat are inseparable. I truly think Jade views Cat as the sister Jade never had. I hope that this doesn't break them apart, I would feel terrible about that. Jade would probably—Hold on, someone's knocking on my door.

"Jade?" I ask, surprised to see her at my door.

"Hey." She said, walking into my room and sitting on my bed while also grabbing the extra controller I lazily kept out after she left yesterday. She was supposed to be "busy" today. But whatever.

"I think she's actually doing some true soul searching." She said, focused on the split screen campaign we have now resumed.

"I can't believe I accidentally added her to that text." I said, shaking my head.

Jade was silent, tongue between her teeth and looking at the screen. She evidently didn't hear me. Usually she'll have some quick remark but apparently not. I have something that'll get a rise out of her.

"But, I guess I had nothing to worry about since I was on suicide watch."

Yep, she looks back at me looking guilty. "Hey, we just were worried. And she didn't get to you so it all worked out."

I shook my head, and we enjoyed a comfortable silence.

"But I really think she's figuring what everything you do means to her. The moment Beck said that you should meet other girls her entire demeanor changed, like she had to stop you."

"Like a defense mechanism?" I asked.

"Kinda, how's you're thinking coming?" She asked, leaning back.

_You aren't going to like it. They all want what's best for me, and my heart keeps telling me that it is Cat._

"Good." I succinctly said.

"Conclusions?"

"Same as they were a month ago."

"You're still on that train?" Jade asked, sounding incredulous.

"Uh huh." I said, trying to stave off an ambush.

"Why? How many times are you going to let her do this to you? Eventually Tori is going to be right. It'll be on you, and Cat might not be so forgiving." Jade told me.

"I really don't think she actually thinks about what her actions do in the long term." I said.

(A/N: Surprise! An insight into Cat Valentine's mind…)

Cat POV

Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock.

My annoying clock keeps making that noise. I know it does that just so that it can work. I used to have a digital clock, but it got too quiet in my room so I went out and bought this one.

This week has majorly sucked. Colby is fun, but not like a Robbie level of fun. Nobody compares to Robbie, not a single guy that I've gone out with…

_Did Robbie and I go out? I think so; I kissed him like we were, and trusted him enough to stay calm that you forgot to pack a bra the last time you were over there._

That's the first conclusion I've come to. Robbie is special to me. No other guy makes me feel that way. When Beck and Andre made it sound like Robbie was going to jump, you might as well have thrown me over too. I would have been inconsolable.

Daddy isn't softening his stance on Robbie and me not talking. I don't even have to talk to him, just hugging him to say how sorry I am, and how I want things to change.

_Wait…I have to recover too. I've been going to the park to listen to Taylor Swift, Typhoon Harbor and even went to the movies on Wednesday night at 11:30._

It's probably not doing me any favors just moping around. I just don't know what to do. Beck asked me what I think of Robbie, and that was the easiest part of the week. He has a special spot in my heart that is only his. I don't want him to go anywhere.

Robbie POV

"Well, I don't think I can force you to change your opinion about her." Jade said.

"Yeah, don't waste your time." I told her, smiling. She returned my smile. "You aren't against it?"

"I kind of agree with you. I doubt she's as happy with those other guys as she is with you, she…I don't know why she does what she does though." Jade admitted.

"Nobody does, that's why it's so—"

"OH DAMN!" Jade suddenly yelled, getting to her feet.

"What?" I toppled off my bed in surprise.

"The trial's tomorrow."


	30. Day in Court

The trial got moved about a week ahead because the judge reviewed the facts and wanted all this over with well before school started up again. It shouldn't take long, the case against Michael is open and closed. He stubbornly maintains she was ok with what he tried to do, but her testimony plus DNA makes that a moot point.

I joined Beck, Tori, Andre and Jade in the gallery, all of us dressed to kill. The three guys are in full suit and tie, Tori and Jade in nice dresses. Thank goodness the courtroom is kept really cold. The clothes plus the tension heat up the room a solid 10 degrees.

Nobody looks comfortable out of our group. I don't know about them, but I've never been even to an informative hearing. We were ordered by the judge to come, since we had a heavy hand in all of this.

I hear the back door open to Cat, along with her parents walking towards the area 2-3 rows ahead. Colby is already here, but we were here even earlier and he was forced to sit behind us. Jade made several reproachful noises when he walked by, but Beck calmed her down.

"Tori" A voice harshly whispered, causing all of us to turn to see Mr. Vega in uniform, moving toward us.

"They want my testimony, and I'm the bailiff for the appellate. Don't worry, I've seen a lot weaker cases get by, no problem."

"Thanks Dad." Tori whispered back. He smiled, then retreated to the back of the room.

"Please rise." We all stood to a man with black hair and matching mustache make his way to the Judge's…box? I don't know what it's called. It looks like a box though.

_Blah, Blah, Blah…something about respecting the office of Judge of California. Opening statements….Jesus this is like a movie._

Finally, Cat makes her way to the stage. She looks oddly calm, brown curls bouncing around in contrast to her red dress that would have matched perfectly with her red hair. Her own attorney asked a few questions about what happened that night with Michael, and she told the same story she told us that night. They were watching a movie, they started kissing, he got more aggressive, to the point he started groping her, she refused, he threw himself on top of her, she worked him off. Back on, back off. He ripped off her shirt, she slapped him and ran off.

Then the guy defending Michael walked up. "How can anyone be paid enough to defend a scumbag like him?" Tori whispered, to the nodding of everyone else.

"Mrs. Valentine, can I call you Cat?" The attorney asked kindly.

_Don't get fooled by his sweet talk sunshine, c'mon…_

"Yes." She replied, not showing a preference towards one or the other.

"Cat…how many times have you had intercourse?"

The entire courtroom, which was silent, gained a silent nervousness. Everyone on my row tensed up, fearing the answer.

"3 times." Cat said, barely audible. The typing of the note taking person on her laptop was louder.

_God, this is so bad. Please end this as soon as possible._

"How many times with the defendant?"

"None sir." Cat said, seemingly regaining her confidence.

"Who are the other boys that you have had sex with?"

All the others glanced at me slightly, expecting me to have my name called in the next few seconds.

_Boy are they in for a surprise._

" Colton Hudson and Colby Daniels."

_I knew she lied._ I thought, recalling that she said she didn't have sex with him. _But she very well could have since then, it's been a week or so._

I was so absorbed in my thoughts that I didn't notice the others gaping at me, stunned. It wasn't until Jade hit me with an elbow in the ribs.

"What?" I mouthed.

"You said you had sex with her!" Tori silently said.

I shook my head. "You guys need to listen better. I never said that." I said, returning my gaze to cat and the scummy lawyer.

"Was this before or after your relationship with my client?" The lawyer asked.

"Objection! Relevance?" Cat's attorney asked, standing.

"Continue." The judge said, waving Cat's attorney off.

"After." Cat said, looking at her feet.

The jury made their first reaction, many of them frowned.

"Thank You Mrs. Valentine." Michael's attorney said, smiling slightly.

"Will Beckett Oliver please come to the stand?" the judge called out. Beck rose and made his way to the box, which looked like a million miles away. He and Andre told our side of the story. I was the first to notice the bruising, told the others. I tried to get Cat to tell me herself, but it didn't work. Then we decided to have Jade talk to Cat, who then talked. The three of us went to Michael and proceeded to give him a piece of our mind.

"Judge?" Michael's attorney interrupted Beck just as we reached Cat's house.

"Is it possible to press charges against those boys for their admitted actions?"

"Why yes it is."

"Then I'd like to do that."

Next thing I knew I heard the clinking of handcuffs as Andre and I were roughly pulled up by Tori's father, who looked sad as he put the cuffs on us and led us to the very back row on Michael's side.

"I'm sorry, it's just my job." He whispered, as Andre and I nodded.

"You mad? I'm not." Andre asked me.

"It's just his job." I replied.

Beck then, looking flustered, finished the rest of the story then too got placed in the clod metal grip of handcuffs and put back here. Andre then repeated the story, followed by Jade and Tori who told their perspective of the entire story from Cat's house.

"Robert Shapiro, please come to the stand."

The walk from the back of the courtroom to that stupid box seemed like a million miles away, but was over entirely too quickly.

The attorney asked me to validate the events of that night, then took a deep breath and looked in Cat's general direction.

"Now is it true that you and Mrs. Valentine have been in a relationship before?" he asked.

Cat's eyes shot right to me, and they were sending a clear message.

_Don't tell him._

"Yes sir." I answered, avoiding Cat's gaze. I would do it, but that damn attorney knows something, I just know it.

"I would like to present these photos taken by me at a water park called Typhoon Harbor. I observed these two acting in a very couple like manner and kissing passionately.

He put a packet of photos on the judge's mini desk.

"May I see those sir?" I asked, looking up at him. He nodded and handed me the photos.

_Holy mother of god…he was stalking us the entire time! He has pics of me putting lotion on her, the drop, her yelling at beck and us holding hands going to my car!_

"Sir, we're minors. I thought it was illegal to possess knowledge of minors in a court case. How exactly did you discover who I was along with the others before you walked into the meeting a few weeks ago?" I asked the attorney.

"I ask the questions, not you boy." He snarled at me.

"No, that is a good question. How did you discover who they were?"

"Michael's parents said they knew of a few friends. I followed his" he pointed at me. "Car to the water park and observed them." He said, not looking remorseful in the least.

The judge did not look pleased. "Continue with the questioning."

"Did you have intercourse with Mrs. Valentine."

"No, I did not." I firmly said. He was visibly taken aback by how strongly I said that.

"Why not?"

"I respect her too much to do that." I replied.

"Do you view Mrs. Valentine as something more than a friend?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Why didn't you mention that before?"

"You didn't ask sir." I shot at him, growing more angry by the moment.

"Objection! Relevance?" Cat's attorney yelled.

_Isn't it a bit late for that?_ I thought.

"Upheld, you may go Mr. Shapiro. Final statements?"

Cat's attorney obviously wasn't prepared for the insanity of that testimony. He ignored most of his case and the one he did make was as thin as bubble wrap. Then Michael's attorney came up.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury. I stand before you today fighting against an onslaught of lies and falsehoods by Mrs. Valentine and her friends. Mrs. Valentine's own testimony contradicts the documents she herself submitted to this very court months earlier. She has no credibility, no truth to her story and no proof to back that story up! She very well could have proved my clients actions, wanted her intercourse earlier and has simply lied about the vents that night. It comes down to who you believe more. The young woman who under oath changed her story or the young man who has maintained his story stoically the entire time."

The judge banged his gavel signaling it was time for lunch and for the jury to start discussing. Beck, Andre and I got dragged into a empty chamber where we could hear the light rumble of the judge yelling at Michael's attorney. Then the light footsteps coming closer…

"Boys, have a seat." He said, after we all stood. It was just the 4 of us.

"Now, I know his has been a crazy day. You probably weren't expecting this to happen." He started, glancing at us.

"But you probably should have. You injured Michael knowingly and kept quiet about it. He submitted the full story in his documents. I don't believe his entire story, Mrs. Valentine's is much more believable, but my opinion doesn't matter. You boys are facing charges of assault. I assume you all are pleading guilty?"

We all nodded.

"Well, I will see you in two days for the verdict since it is not a criminal case. You will be handed your sentences there. What ever happens there will go on your permanent record forever."

His buzzer buzzed. "Jury's back in."

"We didn't get lunch!" Andre said quietly as we again took our position in the back as the jury rose.

"Have you reached a verdict?" The judge asked.

"Yes, your honor. We the jury find the defendant not guilty…"

I didn't quite catch the rest of what she said as my head started spinning.

_Not guilty? Are you kidding me?_

The jury filed out as Michael and his family celebrated. I glanced at back and Andre, and they were slack jawed, looking out at the room but not really seeing anything. Cat was crying into Colby's chest and Mr. Valentine looked out at me. I have no idea what he was thinking, but I doubt he was mad. His facial expression was unreadable.

"C'mon…" Mr. Vega said, grabbing us and pushing us towards the front of the room, towards the judge. "We have charges to levy."

He walked us right past everyone. Michael was smiling evilly, Tori and Jade seemed outraged at the sentence and infuriated that we were being humiliated like this. Cat's lawyer quickly fled the scene, knowing he screwed it up as much as one man can screw something like this up. Then I turned to Cat, who looked at me, clearly saying sorry repeatedly to her father and me with her eyes.

I found myself infuriated for some unknown reason and unable to hold eye contact with her. I looked away as Mr. Vega took us to a room in the back that, for the next 3 hours we found ourselves looking over the possible punishments.

We'll just see on that.


	31. Recovery Pt 2

120 hours of community service. Well, looking at it one way, it's better than being classified a felon or being in actual jail for a month. Which were our other options before we decided that community service would work.

I'm still numb about it. I haven't really slept since Cat's trial. And that was, as you probably already know, was 2 days ago.

(_Flashback to the previous day) Robbie is walking in the park, trying to clear his head about tomorrow's sentencing._

_I can hear muffled yelling of two people about 100 feet away. I can't see them since it's so dark and I have my earphones in. _

_I pull them out of my ears so I can see if it's an assault or something. That would make things a little better, like I'm not a scumbag. But then again, I would be right back at the courthouse._

"_I don't care! He shouldn't think like that!"_

"_He can think whatever he wants to; all he does is care about me, obviously more than you do!" A familiar voice yelled._

_Cat._

_Why do I seem to walk upon arguments that have to deal with me?_

"_Why didn't you tell me you were going out with him?" Colby yelled, agitated_

"_We weren't going out! It was just kind of a friends with benefits thing!"_

"_So both of you lied about the sex!" Michael yelled, sounding triumphant._

"_No, he never wanted it to be that kind of thing. He said he didn't want to!" Cat shot at him._

"_Yeah, right. Look at you! You're gorgeous! Any guy would love to shag you!"_

"_So you asked me out just to sleep with me?"_

"_That was one of the main reasons!"_

_I put my headphones back in and briskly walked the other direction. I had already heard enough to last me awhile._

_(Back to present)_

I told my parents to relent on the rule that Cat can't contact me or come over. They didn't fight. They found out about the trial debacle and said they wanted to help anyway they could, even if that meant me being there for Cat.

Bzzzzt. Bzzzzt.

Stupid phone.

_She's acting odd today, that's for sure. Tons of cute guys where I took her for lunch. More than one asked for her #. Blew all of them off without caring how bad it sounded. Her favorite line was 'I don't care, thank you.'-Jade_

Now that is weird. Cat is always polite to everyone, except Mamaw, and Mamaw is a terrible person. She might be family, but facts are facts.

I typed a response to Jade "Odd, what could possibly be going on now?"

I opened the door to my room, where I collapsed, fully dressed in suit and tie onto my bed. Glad I won't need to wear these stupid clothes again any time soon. Talk about bad luck.

Bzzzzt. Bzzzzt.

AAAARRRGH! Stupid phone! Why do people keep contacting me? I just want to lie down for 20 minutes!

_Hey, hope I'm not bugging you. You sound mad. Can I come in?-Cat_

What does she mean 'come in'?

"What the hell…" I say to the silent room, getting up and striding to my door and opening it.

"AAAHHH!" I yelled. Cat was standing right there, looking worried.

"What?" She asked looking behind her.

"I just wasn't expecting you at my door." I said, moving aside so she could step inside.

"Didn't you read my message?" She asked, gazing at the phone still in my hand.

"Yeah, but still…" I trailed off.

Cat sat down on my bed and played with her hands while gazing around my room.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" She asked.

"Sure, can I shut the door?" I replied.

"Please."

"So what's up sweetie?" I asked, pulling up the chair I now regularly keep in my room.

"I came by to first off, say sorry for how the trial went down. You getting arrested, getting thrown under the bus, and Michael getting off. It was a disaster." She rambled, but she seemed focused while she talked.

"Cat, it isn't your fault, I blame your lawyer and Michael's lawyer. Your guy should have stopped his questions more and made us a moot point. He let it percolate and it killed the case." I told her, and she responded by looking down and frowning.

"I broke up with Colby."

_Like clockwork…_

"I'm sorry Cat. Did you have a fight or something?" I said, trying to hide the fact I wasn't sad at all.

"You don't have to act all sorry if you don't feel like it Robbie. I know you didn't like him. And yes, we had a fight."

"What about?" I pushed, knowing that is the best way to get her to talk.

"You. He thought there was something else there."

"Idiot." I snorted, grabbing a bottle of water.

"I was going to bring you something to say sorry about what happened at the courthouse, but I didn't know what to get." She jumped completely off topic.

"It's ok; it's the thought that counts. Back to Colby." I told her.

Her eyes darted to me.

"He's not exactly wrong you know."

"What do you mean?" I asked, thinking _Is she saying what I think she's saying?_

"I…uhh…ummm…" She looked away and twirled her hands around. I grabbed her hands, which were just as soft as I remembered them.

"Tell me sweetie. I'm not going to tell anyone."

"I know what I think about you. I saw Beck and the others in the park and they said I needed to find out what I truly think about you.. Well, I found out." She said, sounding braver the longer she spoke.

"Ok, what do you think?" I asked, heart pounding in my chest.

"I love you."

"I love you too sunshine, but you mean that in a best friend kind of way right?" I assumed.

She shook her head. "No, I mean I love you Robbie. Every time you hug me, your kisses, even your little gestures, they always make me feel like I've never felt before. Loved for who I am, and I like that Robbie." She laid her head down on my shoulder.

"Before we get too far engrossed in this, let's finish about Colby." I said. "Hey, I'm not doe talking about us sunshine." I quickly added, causing her momentary frown to change instantly back to a smile.

"He thought we did have sex." She fidgeted, but still was inches away from me.

"Why?"

"He said all the stuff at the courthouse made me sound like a…slut." She said, covering her mouth.

I was stunned. She never has said something like that before. It's so not her!

I grabbed her and held her tight. "Never call yourself that Cat. You aren't one. I don't know why you did it, but it really doesn't matter. Just don't sweetie…" I said, as she sobbed into my shoulder.

" I just want to be treated like everyone else. You do that, but occasionally you like Beck and all of them treat me like I'm little. I am a big girl!" She whispered.

"Cat, you know you have some mood swings, and that's ok. We talked about that. The reason we do that is to get you to calm down so we can get back to normal. It's only because we love you. We all do, can you work with us on that?" I asked.

She nodded against my shoulder. "I gave myself up out of a confused quest to be treated fairly, which I already am." She cried, voice stronger but still clinging onto me.

"What do you mean by 'gave yourself up'?" I asked.

"My virginity." She whispered.

"Cat, things happen for a reason. You feel bad now, but I promise you'll look back and feel ok about what has happened."

"You don't want me like that, do you?" She removed herself from my shoulder.

"Please explain." I said, as she sat on the edge of my bed and I moved into the center of the bed.

"You don't think about having sex with me."

I sighed and looked at the ceiling. "I think about it. A lot actually. Some part of me loves the little, innocent girl inside you and if I do…that with you then that girl is gone forever." I confessed.

"Robbie, can you look at me?" She asked kindly. I looked towards her and braced for a lecture.

"You know, that's me. I can be mature but sometimes I just want to have fun. If we do get together that isn't going to change. I don't expect you to grab me, but I'm betting you'll think about it." She finished.

"I will. Where does that leave us then?" I wondered.

"I think the better question is, do you still love me?" Cat asked, looking cute and slightly scared at the exact same time.

"Yeah, I do." I replied. She smiled, looking happier than I've ever seen her before. She wrapped her arms around me and hugged me.

"Thank you Robbie."

"Why are you saying thank you?" I wondered.

"I've done so many things to you that you didn't deserve and you're still willing to love me." She said, gazing up at me.

"You think too much, don't worry about it." I told her, hugging her tiny body.

"One question though." She squeaked.

"Shoot."

" Colby kissed me right before we broke up, and I can still taste him can you get rid of the taste?"

I laughed, "You want me to kiss away the taste of a guy?" I asked, surprised.

"Please? You'll do it right?" She asked, looking worried I'll say no.

I pulled her to me and gently kissed her like I've wanted to ever since I found out about Colby. It's hard to explain, I just want to hold Cat in my arms all day and never let go.

The kiss quickly became passionate, as Cat pulled me to her, not leaving any room between us. Legs around me, she groaned every time I barely touched her.

She wasn't done there though, tongues collided, and she decided it was ok to slowly start grinding me downstairs if you know what I mean.

I separated from her and she put her head in my chest. "Robbie…" She moaned happily.

"Hey, please don't take this the wrong way, but I don't feel comfortable about you…getting off on me like that." I explained.

"It's ok, this just started after all. It was probably too soon anyway. When do your parents get home today?" She asked me.

"8:30." I happily said. It currently was 2:15.

"Is it ok if we…" She looked away and trailed off.

"Sure, I just didn't know you were so…trusting."

I gently kissed her again, and we resumed our "activity" for at least 30 minutes. Then I remembered something.

"Tomorrow's Wednesday." I said, causing her to smile.


	32. Let it out

Great movie…awesome night. Better movie. Cat's dad was fine with us going to see a movie and he gave me and look that asked "everything ok?" I simply nodded in response and he smiled.

Super 8 was ok, just another James Abrams movie. Kinda like Cloverfield, but without the glimpses of the monster and freaky little insects. Lots of suspense. Cat wasn't all that scared until the end, and she climbed into my lap for the last 30 minutes.

My parents pulled a shocker after Cat left. They are going to Europe for all of my senior year. Apparently dad's boss asked him to move to Barcelona so they can set up an office there. The wonderful thing is that I don't have to move, they are going to give me a strict stipend to buy groceries and a little leisure money. But they mentioned that they are very proud of me and believe that they can leave me alone in the US for a full year, no trips back and not destroy the house. Talk about trust. The actually are scouting out places to live in Barcelona right now so we're home alone due to my sister leaving also.

"Mmmmm….."

Cat is on my bed, and I'm on the futon. This is kinda pointless since nobody can walk in on us sleeping together.

"Ohhhhh….mmmmm…"

_What the hell?_

I turn around to see Cat, on my bed, like a good girl. She's facing me with an odd look on her face. Like she's in pain. Her hands are….oh god…

I turn right back around, wishing I hadn't turned around. Wishing I wasn't in the room. Wishing I was asleep.

But nope. I'm awake. I'm in my room. On the futon.

_Thank god I'm not sleeping with her. Then that would be so embarrassing I might die. Not that it's any better right here._

I hear her shift positions and gasp softly. "Ohhh, right there Robbie…."

_ROBBIE?_

I feel so perverted just being here…

The bed springs started squeaking. "Ohhh, ohhh, OHHH! Yes! Faster! Robbie! OHHH! Uhh….." She trailed off as the squeaking stopped.

_She just…I…I gotta get out of here._

I stood up, and walked into the kitchen, closing the door behind me softly.

It isn't my fault…it's just so bad. We talked about that yesterday and now…that? And me? This is too much for one teenager to handle. I occupy myself by starting breakfast. I'm about halfway done when my door opens to Cat in the exact same clothes as when she was sleeping. I immediately start blushing the second she looks at me.

"Hi…" She mumbles sleepily, hugging me.

"Hey, hungry?" I ask.

"Very."

Breakfast was a very subdued affair. She asked me multiple times if I was ok, and I just said I didn't sleep well. She didn't buy it; she battered me with questions the whole time.

Finally, as I was putting away my dishes. "I have to talk to you. In my room."

She put her plate down and pulled me into my room by my hand. "Tell me what's bothering you." She said, sitting on my bed. Same side that she slept on.

Again, I went deep red and ran my hand through my hair. "Ummm…."

Cat didn't say anything, just looked up at me, eyes caring, wanting to know the problem.

"I…heard you." I finally said.

"What do you mean?" Cat asked, inching closer to me.

"Your dream…" I whispered. A horrified look crossed her face.

"You mean…you were awake when I was dreaming about…" She trailed off.

"Yeah…you weren't quiet. I even heard my name." I said.

Cat looked mortified. "I….I'm so sorry Robbie. You must feel unbelievable."

"Yeah, I didn't know what to do. You don't have to say sorry though. It's natural and very bad timing." I told her, as she buried her head in my sheets.

"Can you keep a secret?" She asked.

"I told you before, what happens in this room, stays in here."

"You were amazing." She said, deep red but looking at me.

"Thanks…" I said shyly, looking down.

"Do you ever have dreams like that?"

_What do I say? Yes? There was one a few nights ago…and it was Cat…but I still feel the same way about screwing her._

"Yeah."

"Am I in them?" I nodded, pretty sure I was about to faint because of lack of blood flow to my brain.

"Am I good?"

I sighed. "It sounds terrible, but you were fantastic." She blushed, but smiled at me and wrapped her legs around me.

"Cat…" I said, since my thoughts about the dreams caused blood to flow…down.

"I don't care…." She said, grinding right into me. I groaned audibly and closed my eyes. When I opened them she was looking at me smugly and smiling devilishly.

"You liked that…" She whispered sexily.

"That's not a good idea…"

"Explain why not? Nobody's here…" She whispered seductively, grinding her hips again. I groaned again and she laughed.

"Cat…I want you…bad. Really bad. Worse than you can possibly imagine. I just don't feel ready." I hoarsely said, hoping she'll understand.

"I know, we went over that yesterday. I want to ask you for a favor though."

"And what would that be?"

"Help me out."

"I don't get it." I said, having a feeling towards what she was hinting towards.

"I feel really…I don't know the word…." She started.

"Let's go with excited. Uhh" I told her, groaning again as she shifted herself again.

"Ok…" She whispered huskily. "I'm really excited, and I was wondering if you could help me out."

"By doing what?"

"Well, I was thinking we could stay in bed and make out all day until I fall asleep. I'm pretty sure that it'll happen again if and when I do."

"Are you telling me to…touch you?"

"You sound upset." She pouted, looking beyond saddened.

"It's…just…you're a girl and…I haven't…" I mumbled, causing her to smile.

"I'm your first?" She asked, surprised.

"Yeah."

"You want to do this?"

"In a bad way…yeah." I confessed. She lifted my head up.

"It's not bad, it's natural. I think we should do it now, while I'm awake so you can do it without worrying about if you're doing ok."

I am stunned. _She wants me to do all this, and for me to enjoy it? Isn't she the one that will get all excited?_

"Why do you trust me so much?"

"I love you. If I had to do this to stay alive, and I could pick the guy, I'd pick you. I'm sorry about how I started all this. I didn't know you hadn't done this before."

I don't say anything. I just can't. I think she saw that and lightly kissed me.

"And if you want, I'll get you off if it hasn't already happened when you're doing me." She said, pulling herself next to me, clad in a tank top and shorts.

"I can't ask you to do…OHHHHH!" I said, as she grabbed me and stroked.

"catcatcatcatcat" I said very quickly as she let go. I opened my eyes to her reaching for her shirt.

"All I want is a yes or no. Do you want me to get you off?"

I nodded silently, and she smiled. "I think I should let you off the hook. Do you want to kiss me while I do it?"

I shook my head. "I think I'll bite your tongue."

She laughed. "One last thing." She pulled her shirt over her head, leaving only her bra and shorts. "I don't want you to care about anything or anyone else. I want you to immerse yourself in this and enjoy it. I love you, ok?"

"I don't want to grab you in the wrong—"

She put her finger over my lips. "You can grab me wherever you feel like putting your hands Robbie. I trust you."

I got off the bed and walked towards the door, pants tenting severely.

"What are you—" I locked the door.

I lay back down, as she climbed onto my legs.

"It sounds so wrong…I want this so bad." I said, voice shaking.

"Well, why wait any longer?" She asked, putting her hand on me.

"I love you." Then she stroked.

I quickly grabbed her hair and groaned deeply, not worrying about how loud I was or anything. I just followed her advice and enjoyed.

"Ohhhhh…Cat!" I said, as she ran her nails up and down.

"Just enjoy…." She smiled, pumping me. I twitched and grabbed her ass then pulled her to me.

"Ohhhhh…."

She started going faster and faster, working with my various noises. I had absolutely no control, but I don't think that bothered her. She said to enjoy it.

"Cat…I'm gonna go soon." I whispered, as she smirked and started pumping faster. My hands blindly hit her breasts as I grabbed her again.

"You have so much control…when it comes, just let it out…" She said, kissing my neck.

"Ohhhhh, oh….Cat! I…OH!" Then I let it go.

My groan was so deep I swear it vibrated her, as she grabbed my lips and passionately kissed me the second I lost it.

Once we separated, we were gasping for air. I was semi shaking and she was smiling out of sheer happiness.

"That was…unbelieveable." I whispered, as she laid down on my chest.

"You have some serious will. That's going to come in handy…good job." Cat smiled at me, while grabbing my hands.

She placed my hands on her stomach. "I hope I was better than a mattress."

"So much better." I am still shaking.

"Ok, now, two hints. One, caress and squeeze. Two, work with me when I move. If I grind you going down, you go up. I'll practically scream with delight and make it wonderful."

"I'll try."

"Oh, and one more thing." She said, pulling her shorts off to reveal pink underwear with a small dark spot. "Easier access. Don't expect to be held up very long, I never have made it long. You know where to go?" She asked, body tensing up in anticipation.

I shook my head. She placed my hand in between her legs at her opening. "Rub, then enter. One finger for now. You'll do fine."

I took a deep breath as cat closed her eyes and waited.

The moment I touched her she pulled me onto her. "Ohhhhh yesss. Go, gogogogoggo…" She started grinding me, and I matched her movement while maintaining my strokes. With each passing moment, I could feel her get closer and closer.

"Oh, you are amazing…" She whispered as she made a movement downward. I gently entered.

She contoured herself to me, moaning getting louder by the second. Then she screamed.

"Ohhhhhh!You're so close….do it…please…" She whispered as she attempted to wriggle out of my grasp, but I held her, knowing she didn't want me to let go.

"Gogogogogo, Faster! Yes! Robbie! Uh…" She groaned as I felt something warm under me. I tried to get off her, but she pulled me into a loooooong kiss.

"You have to be some kind of god. That was the best ever."

"I can't say, it was my first." I said, smiling.

_Wow, she looks amazing. Even though she's shaking and only in her underwear._

"Thank you Robbie. I needed that."

"Uhh…" I say, wanting to say something completely different, but holding back.

"Say itttt." She huskily said, kissing my cheek.

"Anytime."


	33. Contrast in a moment

(A/N: Shout out to Piklink, mrsmattbennett, li'miss sunshine, bandgrad2008 & The Beginning of Talent along with all of the reviewers for all the loyal support. Every time I see new review emails it just makes my day)

These bricks are killing my back. I went to the first physical therapy session yesterday and today I'm knocking out 3 out of the 120 hours of community service mandated by the judge. Not smart to schedule that back to back, pardon the pun.

Anyway, I googled some places to serve community service and there are actually some cool options, like tutoring kids downtown or do what I'm doing now, building homes for Habitat for Humanity. Every hour worked is a hour less on my community service time.

Can't wait for tonight though, I'm going to go eat then play laser tag with Beck and everybody. Lot better than being stuck in one position all night like I was yesterday night. Michael did an interview with one of the local news stations and said that the "justice system did its job". Talk about making me sick.

I'm not going to bring him up again; I'm ready to go have fun which should start right…

"Shapiro! You're good man, the papers are already signed, so you can go get them and leave." The builder called to me, and after putting away my mortar and shovel thingy I gathered my papers and drove home.

My parents are back in town, but they are leaving for good tomorrow. Apparently since the global economy is very suckish right now an average 1 story house in America (My house) has the same value as a 3 story villa complete with wine cellar and butler just outside Barcelona. They pounced on the opportunity and the former owner (some Hollywood actor Dad met somewhere) is even paying for their stuff to be shipped over.

The hot, numbing spray is a stark reminder of how much my back actually hurts. I need to remember to take a couple of aspirin or ibuprofen or something.

"WHOA!" I yell, falling down while walking out of my bathroom. I forgot my shirt again and am greeted by my "girlfriend" lounging on my bed.

"Hey! Why so surprised?" She asked, swinging her feet off the bed and helping me off the floor then crushing herself against me.

"Well, I just wasn't expecting a gorgeous girl to be relaxing on my bed." I confessed, stroking her soft hair.

"Oh…do you want me to leave and then come back inside?" She asked, voicing shaking. She sounds like she is afraid I'm mad at her.

"No, no, no sweetie. You're fine. You want to pick which shirt I'll wear?" I offered.

She nodded, and gently pushed me towards my closet, and when I got inside, she shut the door behind her and threw herself on me.

"Robbie…" She groaned after a moment or two of fierce kissing.

"Easy girl…today is Tuesday, patience…" I smiled, and she leaned on my shoulder.

"Tomorrow's Wednesday…he he." She giggled while smiling.

"Yes it is…now pick a shirt please."

She looked at the shirts for a moment, then chose a dark blue that looks black until you get right next to it.

"So you can blend into the field…like a giraffe." Cat giggled.

"Like a giraffe huh?" I asked, smirking as I pulled on the shirt.

"Yeah, they adapted into their surroundings by getting long necks and spots."

"Ok…" I said, exiting to the sight of my parents ball room dancing in the kitchen. Cat and I just stood there, shocked but also kinda amused. I heard Cat giggle a little bit; she's in a very good mood, which is saying something because she's always happy.

They kept on for a minute or two, allowing Cat to snuggle into my side as we watched. I was finding it hilarious that they were oblivious to our—

"ROBBIE!" my mom yelled, freezing mid turn. Cat and I both burst out laughing as she and my dad went red with embarrassment.

Somehow Cat managed to get out "I liked the little turn." She mimicked it before laughing again.

"Thank you sweetie." Mom said, smiling slightly, but looking annoyed at me.

"Don't you kids have somewhere to be?" My dad asked, sounding irritated.

"Yeah, we're going to laser tag and dinner!" cat squeaked, grabbing onto my arm again.

"Why were you dancing?" I asked curiously.

"Barcelona has a tradition of quality dancing."

"That dancing was high quality." Cat blushed.

Both of my parents smiled at her fondly. "I'm going to miss you so much sweetie." Mom said, pulling Cat into a hug. I looked at dad and he just smiled.

"We're leaving tomorrow, she wanted to say that." Dad said as Mom whispered something into Cat's ear. Cat listened intently then nodded her head. Then she grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the door.

"Bye! Have a nice time!" Mom called out, wiping her eyes.

"Sorry about my mom, she can get like that sometimes." I sighed, starting the car as it drizzled outside.

"No problem, you want to know what she asked me to do?" Cat asked me, while examining herself in the mirror.

_What the heck, can't hurt, otherwise Cat would have said something inside._

"What did she say?"

"She told me that she was so happy we were together again, it makes her so happy seeing you happy and she asked me to make sure you would be safe while they were gone."

"That's really nice of her." I said.

_I'm lucky to have her as a mom. Moms are the greatest._

"I know right…" Cat said, then saying something about her makeup as I drove to the restaurant. We are supposed to meet up with everyone there, since I have no clue where the laser tag place is.

Cat rushed ahead as I extracted my self from the car. I don't think she noticed how sore I am, but that's ok, she worries about me too much as it is.

"Didn't Beck and everyone say we are sitting together?" Cat asked me as I approached the host desk.

"Yeah…" I said.

"Right this way." A waitress said. Cat and I traded confused looks as she dragged us to a table in the back of the room.

"Enjoy…" She said, walking off.

"They tricked us."

"Why?" I asked. It makes no sense, why would we be sitting together.

"I don't know why, let's just enjoy this. Do you have your phone?" Cat asked, obviously wanting to beat Akinator. Yeah, still no luck. It even knew who Tori is.

After Cat failed a few more times and we ordered we settled into our normal groove of behavior whenever we eat together on Wednesdays. I feel really lucky to be going out to eat twice in the same week with Cat.

It's still kinda surreal to realize Cat and I are dating. Neither of us has called the other our boy/girlfriend but it's going to happen soon and we already kinda tipped off Jade and the others so there aren't really any secrets.

Dinner went well; Cat is in an amazing mood. She was constantly smiling, devoured all of her food and went as far as to kiss me on the cheek in front of everyone. She NEVER does that, she hates PDA.

As we are walking outside Cat grabbed my hand. "Thanks for dinner Robbie."

"Anytime sunshine." I replied, causing her to gently smile and lean on my shoulder.

"Shouldn't we call Beck to find out where the laser tag place is?" She asked quietly, looking up at me.

"You don't have to!" A familiar voice called out a few feet behind us.

We both turned to see Beck, Tori, Andre, and Jade walking towards us. Cat snatched her head off my shoulder and her hands away from me.

I glared at Beck, hoping he realized he ruined a nice little moment. It looks like he realized that, but plowed forward, realizing the damage was done.

"When did you guys get here?" I asked, smiling as the girls walked up.

"A while earlier." Tori said, as Jade pinched the cheek Cat kissed.

"What was that for?" I asked, annoyed.

"Seeing you two on your own little date was adorable. Especially afterward, ooohhh" Jade smiled as Andre rolled his eyes.

"Wait…what do you mean?' Cat asked, not sounding pleased.

"We got there before you guys and saw everything." Beck told her.

Cat looked like she was about to blow a gasket. The last time I saw her so mad she vented her spleen on Jade, Tori and Beck. They apparently saw that and took a discreet step back as Andre remained in place.

"C'mon…" Cat said, grabbing my hand roughly and pulling me towards my car. She then put her head back onto my shoulder, turned and then looked forward again.

"Why are they always butting into everything?" Cat asked, sounding extremely frustrated.

"I think it's because we never show anything to the public. They want to see us when we're together, acting like a couple."

_Oh crap, I think I just broke the ice. I just said that we're a couple…_

"Well, that's not going to happen anymore." She said grumpily as we climbed into my car.

Once she got in I grabbed her and kissed her softly, breaking apart only to say "You are so sexy when you're mad…" then she climbed over the dash again to plop herself on me for a moment.

"Really?" she asked once we broke apart, while she climbed back into her seat.

"Yeah, it's…hard to explain, but it is." I told her. She grabbed something out of her purse as I waited for the light to change. I glanced over to see Cat wiping off her makeup.

"What are you doing?"

"Taking off my blush, it'll just run at laser tag." She explained.

_There are the freckles…_

I followed Beck the entire way to "Lazer Xtreme". That's the name of the place, and Cat was engrossed in her appearance the whole drive over.

"Just play along ok? I don't think you'll mind." Cat asked as I stepped out of the car.

"To what?" I asked, completely out of the loop.

"You'll see."

We met up with the others and bought 3 rounds of 20 minutes each. They retreated to the restroom, while Cat and I already went at the restaurant.

It was almost time for them to come out when Cat looked at me lustily and greedily kissed me while also pinning me against the wall.

_Holy CRAP! She didn't say she was going to go full on make out in the Laser tag place!_

I played along, as she requested, and finally broke apart to see the others looking stunned at us. Cat smirked.

"C'mon, let's go!" She perkily said, taking the lead.

"What the hell was that?" Jade half whispered as Tori, Andre and Beck leaned in.

"I don't know…when we got out of the car she asked me to 'play along'. I guess that was what she meant." I said, still not believing she just did that.

"So you had no clue she was going to do…that?" Beck said, sounding unsure of himself as Cat motioned at us to go faster.

"Exactly." I said, stepping into a dark room where vests were hung. Jade stood with me and Cat, who had latched onto my arm. Beck, Andre and Tori retreated to the other side of the room and vested up.

Some guy in referee gear and a goatee that was glowing in the black light explained the rules and jade and cat giggled about his beard.

"Girls." I said quietly, shaking my head.

"GO!" A deep voice said, as we raced to get ammo and hide.

Cat was giggling and luckily for me went with Jade. Soon, everything was chaotic, the enormous floor was revealed to have little hurdles to discourage running and some wonderful spots to snipe from, at your own risk however.

Beck and Tori were very aggressive, walking right into a hailstorm of fire from Jade, Cat and I. Tori screamed in frustration as the two of them retreated. Andre however, snuck up behind them and hammered all three of us before we realized we were getting hit.

"Hey! No fair, he blends in with the light!" Jade exclaimed, fleeing and firing at him simultaneously.

"That's an advantage of being black, along with ballin' basketball skills!" Andre yelled as he also retreated.

The entire game was a rush to me. I just remember basically staying where I was, crouched and hidden from view for the most part. Cat was right about the shirt and blending in, I rarely got shot at, and that was in response to the few times I came up to fire in the open.

"AAAHH!" I heard as I suddenly went face first into the ground. Someone had tried to jump over my hiding spot, but now had their legs wrapped around me. I heard fevered footsteps coming quickly and mumbled swearwords.

"Get off of him TORI!" Cat yelled, as Tori scrambled off of me to avoid anymore damage, which Cat was inflicting.

Before I knew it, the deep voice from the speakers said the game was over. As we took off our vests the attendant said that scores would be posted on a screen outside. We had a one game wait between each of our turns so we all headed outside.

Oddly enough, once I stepped back into the light I realized I was sweat soaked, which I should have noticed inside.

"Sorry about that Robbie, I bet I freaked you out a bit huh?" Tori said, hugging me, and was also sweating.

"You're fine, it was an accident." I smiled briefly, only to see Cat clutching onto Beck as whispering something. My blood pressure rose then Beck nodded.

"Babe, Cat wants to be with me this time, ok?" Beck called out to Tori, who nodded and grabbed me by the elbow.

"Can I talk to you for a sec?" She asked, and I nodded. She led me away from the others and towards the deserted food court.

"That was weird back there." She blurted out. I smiled.

"Definitely not normal cat, she wants some space, and thinks if we act more like a couple around you guys then you'll back off." I told her.

She shook her head. "We just want to see a glimpse, not all the time. Beck and I try not to do that to you guys so it won't be awkward."

"So you and Beck are together?" I asked. They had denied it as recently as the Wednesday before.

"Yeah, we're figuring it out before we announce it." She blushed. "Don't tell Jade." She added quickly.

"Congrats." I smiled, and she hugged me.

"Is she always that way?" Tori asked as she let me go.

"That physical? Occasionally." I admitted.

"Kinda like that or…more?"

"Depends on her mood, sometimes she starts rounding third..." I said, the second part to myself, not aloud.

Tori's eyes widened. Apparently I did say that aloud, even though I didn't mean to.

"Don't you dare repeat what I just told you or Cat will chase you out of here." I said darkly.

Tori nodded. "Topi won't say anything." She smiled. That reminds me, I need to send them an email complimenting them on their last show.

I grinned. "Hey! We're about to get going!" Beck called out to us, and we rejoined the group. Cat glared at me, silently demanding information. One thing you learn after hanging out with her for awhile. She had subtle but certain gestures that she uses frequently. I shook my head discreetly. _"Nothing new"_

We revested, but this time we got to hide and load up before the game started. I'm guessing the start is always chaotic, because it was just as insane as last time. I must be noticing more than I thought about Cat because I knew where she was without her revealing herself. All I saw was a glimpse of someone's legs and vest and I somehow knew it was Cat and hit her at least 7-8 times before she realized what was happening and fled. She also must have told beck my hiding spot because he flushed me out pretty quickly, freeing me up to sneak up on Andre a few times and hammer him.

This time the ref relaxed the running rule, and things sped up dramatically, Beck hurdled Jade while trying to get to Tori, who got so scared she ran right into a wall. I fell down I was laughing so hard and Jade had to protect me while I regained my composure.

"Game OVER." Said the deep voice.

"Aww…" The room as a whole groaned then filed into the vest room. Must be the action, I'm soaked again. Even Jade is wiping her forehead.

"This is so amazing" Jade gushed once we all met up by the board.

"It is." Tori agreed.

I glanced at the board. Our group as a whole wasn't on there.

"They're adding us up separately and will show us our scores separately after the last game." Beck said, as Andre headed off the the food court.

"You guys want a Raderade?" he called out. We all said yes and he went off to get the refreshments.

"We should do this again." Cat smiled, standing next to me.

"Definitely, this is addictive. Last time I did this I was in Canada." Beck mused, provoking a glare from Jade.

"I was 9!" he exclaimed, as Tori groaned and rolled her eyes.

"Here…you…go!" Andre said, passing around blue Raderade for Beck and Tori, Black, which is fitting for Jade, Red for Cat and I, while keeping the last, purple for him. (A/N: Any idea on what these colors signify? Hint: I just gave away a possible avenue for the sequel to this story to follow, and yes, there WILL be a sequel!)

Cat nudged me, and I looked down to find her smiling up at me. I smiled back and looked back up to the others smiling at the two of us. I rolled my eyes and wrapped my arms around Cat instinctively.

We made small talk while we drank the rest of the Raderade. Then the referee called us in for the last game.

"I'm with Robbie." Cat mumbled quietly while sticking close to me as we walked inside the vest room. The others slinked to the other side while cat and I were alone.

"GO!"

This time, I decided to change my strategy. I'm rushing ahead to what you think would be no man's land, and will wait for people to come out so I can sneak into Beck's area and bring the rain.

It works pretty well for awhile, until Jade and Andre spot me and I have to flee.

"BAM!" I go flying into the air, landing straight onto my face. I landed in a safe area, wait for a minute and resume firing from my little oasis of safety.

Again, the game ends too soon. I never moved from my spot, where I'm hidden behind a semi circle shaped hurdle.

I try to get up, only to have a sharp pain shoot through my right leg and for me to see stars.

"AAAAHHHH!" I yell, the pain is terrible. It feels like my leg below my knee is on fire.

I collapse onto the floor, keeping my leg stiff and don't move. I can see everyone filing out, but they don't see me collapsed on the floor.

_Crap, they can't see me._

"Jade!" I call out, just as she's exiting the room. She turns around, still not seeing me.

"Yeah Robbie?" She called out.

"Can you come here? Follow my voice!" I said, and she walked over, still didn't see me, and tripped on my shoulder, landing with her feet next to my head.

"What's wrong? Why are you lying on the floor?" She asked, worry evident in her voice.

"I tripped in the middle of the game, and now I can't get up."

"Why didn't you say something until now?" She asked, waving for the referee to come over.

"I didn't attempt to move until just now, and my leg just gave out." I said, as the ref came over.

"His leg gave out, what can you do?" Jade asked him.

"Let me get the light…" he said, standing up and turning on the light.

"SHIT!" Jade yelled as the lights came on. My leg was bathed in blood about halfway down my calf, and you could see my shin bone clearly visible.

"Damn!" the ref yelled, running to grab the first aid kit.

"What happened?" Jade yelled, recoiling from me and looking afraid at all the blood.

"I was running and tripped on this thing." I said, wincing and patting the hurdle I was lying behind.

The referee came over with the first aid kit. "I can't really do much, I can wrap it, but you need to get to the ER." He said, taking out some heavy duty athletic tape.

"I'm going to tell the others. Maybe they know an ER nearby." Jade said, getting up and exiting the room.

"She your girlfriend?" the referee asked.

"OW! No…she's a very good friend though, probably my best friend." I told him.

He kept quiet, triple wrapping my leg, but the blood was still showing. I remember now why Jade looked so scared. She hated blood as a little girl, couldn't stand it. Whenever she cut herself she refused to look at it.

"Let's get you outside." He said, helping me up and letting me lean on him as I hobbled out.

"Cat's mom works at the ER 10 minutes away, she's calling her now. You're going there." Jade said as Andre and Beck rushed forward and put my arms around their shoulders. Tori was biting her nails and looking terrified. I didn't see Cat until we were out the door and approaching my car. In fact, she dashed by them and opened the passenger door.

She looked miserable, but that isn't quite the right word. The closest thing I can describe is when my mom accidently splashed scalding water on me once. She had a similar look.

"Mom's waiting, c'mon." was all she said as I got in. She pulled out, quickly followed by everyone else.

The scene at the hospital was unlike anything I had ever seen. Cat's mom was _waiting_ for her to drive into the ambulance area.

_Shouldn't she be doing something you know…more important? This isn't life threatening…I don't think._

I quickly was wheeled into some area where they already had my file out and were preparing to do something. I'm not afraid to say I'm quite scared, last time this happened I was unconscious.

45 minutes, one x-ray, one transfusion and crutches later the final verdict is one "major" gash to my lower leg, one broken fibula and one angry mom, and it isn't mine. They can't even put me in a cast until the gash heals. Mrs. Valentine isn't happy with my "fooling around" but isn't yelling at me either.

Finally, Mrs. Valentine accompanied me to the waiting area, where everyone is waiting. Cat has a bandage on her arm, and everyone is looking tired. Mrs. Valentine relayed the news, wanting to compare my story.

After a lengthy debate, everyone is headed home, promising to check in tomorrow. I make a mental note to thank Jade personally for all her help. Cat and I finally start trekking towards her house.

"Cat." I pester her. I'm not supposed to drive for 2 entire weeks. Especially not tonight.

"No, absolutely not." She snapped.

"Then how are you going to get home?" I questioned.

"I don't know."

"You live 14.3 miles away, that's not a walk Cat."

"This isn't about me, this is about you. Mom said you can't drive."

"Cat." I look at her, basically saying "can I PLEASE do this my way?"

She looked at me forever. She sighed heavily. "You haven't heard the end of this." She said, taking the turn towards her house.

"I'll be fine sunshine. What's up with the bandage?" I asked, trying to cool her off.

She glared at me.

_Don't you dare change the subject._

"You needed blood, so I donated." She said abruptly, frowning. (A/N: I don't care that Robbie has a rare blood type. For this story, this is how it's going to work.)

"Thanks, that's really nice." I said, smiling as she pulled into her driveway.

I crutched my way into the front seat as she walked inside. Boy, driving isn't very fun, but I have to get home. Looks like role reversal for the next two weeks.

I did manage to get home safely, at about 2 AM. My parents' flight leaves at 4 so I'm expecting fire and brimstone.

Boy, tonight is the night of my being wrong. After much panic by my mom, and I awesome explanation, fudging a few facts I get to my room and finally follows as Mrs. Valentine said "Mom's directive" and go to sleep at about 3.


	34. Enigma

"Urrrgh…" I groan, waking up way too early.

_Stupid leg, why are you broken…_ I thought as I glance at said leg, wrapped extensively and propped up on two pillows.

Wait…I hear shallow breathing…

I glance to my left to find Cat sleeping with her arms around me and her head on my shoulder. I peek back to my leg to find an icepack on top of the bandages.

_Mom's Directive…_ I smiled to myself. _Wait…I dropped her off at 1:20ish last night. How the hell did she get back at…I don't know what time it is…_

I grab my phone off my bedside table. 7:08 AM.

_How did she get into my house so quick?_

As if on cue, Cat blinked and yawned. She then hugged me softly and sighed. I don't think she knows I'm awake.

"How'd you get here sunshine?' I asked, causing her to jump slightly.

"Ahh! Don't scare me like thattt." She whined, lying back down onto my bed.

"Sorry, seriously, how are you here right now?"

"Mom isn't happy with you being here alone. I got here right after you came in here, and talked to your parents. Their flight got delayed so they had a bit of a wait." She explained.

"What did they say?" 

"They thanked me, your mom cried, your dad hugged me and I promised I'd take care of you."

I rolled my eyes and smiled. "What did I do to have you fall into my life?" I asked, half sarcastically.

"I don't know, but I'm glad I'm here…" She sighed, contouring herself to me.

"Oh Yeah!" She exclaimed. "I'm supposed to take you home later." She added, kissing me lightly.

"More of that and I'll be healed in no time." I quipped, but apparently she thought I was serious, quickly taking the situation into make out territory. Not that I'm against it, I'm just not…mobile enough to respond rapidly. I made it work though, and her mood from last night apparently has carried over.

"Sweetie…please don't take this the wrong way, but with me in this situation I really can't…" I trailed off, as she stopped grinding me rhymically.

She groaned, but not in the good way. "I see what you mean…stupid leg…" She grumbled. She did have a look similar to what happened a week ago in this very bed in her eye, and I am determined to not have that happen while I'm around, or in the very least I can't hear it.

"Are you…" I asked, hoping this could be as normal as possible.

"Yeah…sorry."

"Don't say sorry, it's normal. Let me go grab the protective wrap and I'll take a shower ok?" I told her, causing her to smile.

"Thanks for understanding." She whispered, looking at my pillow. I hobbled my way into the shower, closed the door and prayed she was quiet. I didn't really have to worry because the shower was practically unbearable simply because of the mist, let alone cleaning the area around the gash. I was focused on cleaning up and keeping it as pain free as possible.

After what must have been the longest shower of my life, along with a torturous effort to dry the area I reapplied the bandage to my leg, since it requires a dry area to stick to my skin. God, this sucks…

Finally, I emerge from the bathroom to see Beck, Andre, Jade and Tori all in my room talking to Cat, who apparently was fighting for joint custody of my bed.

"Hi." I managed to get out before I moved over to the bed and sat down, cringing at the now even more tender leg.

"How does it feel?" Tori asked.

"I know you mean well Tori, but not good timing because I just cleaned it and it's hurting worse than ever." I confessed. Tori frowned, but took my gentle attempt at honesty well enough.

"You need anything?" Jade asked.

"No, I can get basically everything myself—"

"No, we're here to help you Robbie. Seriously, do you need anything?" Beck told me sternly.

"Yeah…but it's simple, I can do it—"

"Robbie!" Jade and Tori yelled simultaneously.

"Fine, Fine. Geez…breakfast…I'm hungry." I said, angry I now have 5 demanding nurses. 1 I can handle, but I can do things myself too.

"On it, be right back!" Andre said, leaving the room quickly.

"I'm going to get OJ, you want some Robbie?" Cat asked, standing up.

"Sure, I'll come to you though." I said, glaring at Tori and Jade pointedly.

_I am not a cripple; I do want to move…_

"Can I have some?" Beck asked.

"Sure!" Cat said perkily, and hurried off to the kitchen. Beck helped me up and I used the crutches to move slowly in there.

"Ok, this click is annoying me." I said bluntly as Beck and Cat sipped their drink.

"I know, you just kinda block it out after about a week.' Beck told me. "I jumped off the swings in third grade, not my best move." He admitted. Cat giggled and hugged him; Beck gave her a warm smile and kissed her hair.

I am well aware of his soft spot for her, everyone has one for her. Instead of the normal jealousy most people would feel I am kinda relieved, knowing everyone cares about her so much.

"ROBBIE SHAPIRO!" Jade and Tori yelled towards the kitchen. The three of us looked at each other, Cat and Beck looking completely confused. I can confirm I am confused.

"Coming!" I said, placing my glass back on the counter and moving back to my room.

Tori was standing by my closet and as soon as I crossed the threshold for the door Jade slammed it shut.

"What?" I asked, wanting to get back to my drink.

"This." Tori said demandingly, opening the door and pulling aside some of my clothes revealing a collection of women's clothing, including shorts, jeans, shirts, tank tops, revealing shirts and…bras.

"Really, you called me in for this?" I said emphatically, making my way over to Tori.

"Why do you have all that stuff?" Jade asked.

"Cat usually stays over on Wednesday nights." I said in a conversational tone. Jade and Tori's jaws dropped.

"So…wait…that day I came over here and Cat was here…that was a Thursday…you mean to say that…" Jade trailed off, but Tori finished her sentence for her.

"You guys are sleeping together every Wednesday?' Tori asked, flabbergasted.

"You make it sound worse than it is." I told them.

"Please explain." Tori said, as Jade crossed her arms. That's an easy way to tell she's annoyed, crossed arms.

I sighed, "We sleep in the same room every Wednesday, but together only once every three weeks."

"Where does she sleep the other two times?" Tori asked, trying to wrap her head around everything.

"In my bed, I sleep on the futon." I told her, turning to Jade. "That you saw out last time you were here." I spoke directed to her.

"You said they were sleeping together!" Tori told Jade.

"I saw Kimberly's pictures on her phone of them together!" Jade retorted.

"That was because she woke us up early and Cat forced me to lie back down with her after that."

"Yeah right, 'forced'." Tori said, putting air quotes around forced.

"Well, she didn't really give me a choice." I responded.

"But you didn't fight it either." Jade smirked.

"Do your parents know about all of this?" Tori asked.

"Yeah…they don't mind, it's easier to have a stash of stuff here so she can just change instead of bringing a bag every time." I said.

"Why isn't there any…" Jade started, but I knew why she didn't finish the sentence.

"She puts them somewhere. I don't know where, but I sure as hell don't go looking for them, answering your next question." I told the two of them.

"So she showers here?" Tori wondered.

"Yeah."

"Is she always…clothed when she goes in and out?" Jade asked, struggling to phrase the question right. I know what she was getting at though.

"Yes..." I told her. Apparently that satisfied both girls, but they still looked worried. We walked back into the kitchen to Beck running around with Cat over his shoulder.

_Liar liar, Robbie for hire… for community service at least._

"Beck! Put me down!" Cat said, loudly, but giggling.

"No! I want to see them!" He said, continuing to spin her around.

"No!"

"Then faster!" he said, going even faster.

"Beck!" Cat said, before starting to giggle uncontrollably.

"Any idea on what he wants?" Tori asked me.

"Absolutely no idea." I told her.

"I'm Bac—" Andre said, stepping back inside with two large bags but stopping at the sight of Cat and Beck.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"No idea." Jade responded.

"She has pictures of her and Robbie and she won't let me see." Beck explained, still spinning Cat and smiling happily.

"Pictures?" Jade asked me.

"Oh yeah…" I said.

We took some pictures down at the beach a few weeks ago during a weekend long air show. The pictures are really cute, most of them I have my arms around Cat in some form or fashion, but I can see why Cat doesn't want to show them to Beck. She cherishes those pictures. She should, they're really good.

"Do you have them?" Andre wondered, placing the bags on the table.

"Yeah, come here." I said, going back to my room where I had them in an album under my bed. Don't worry; I had Andre retrieve it for me.

"Here." I said, opening it to the first picture and handing it to Jade. Tori and Andre looked over her shoulder at them.

They quickly fell into the 'Aww, that's so cute!' stage and eventually Beck came in with Cat still over his shoulder. "Whatcha looking at?" he asked.

"The pictures." I said, as Tori and Jade both "Aww"ed for what seemed to be the thousandth time since I gave them the book.

"Robbie!" Cat screeched as Beck leaned over to take a look.

"Sorry sweetie." I said, leaning down to look at her upside down face. She pointedly frowned.

"Those are our memories…" She pouted, causing me to smile.

"That doesn't mean I can't share the pictures with them." I said.

"Robbie…" Tori said sweetly, pointing at one of me with my arms around Cat, and her looking back at me. I was laughing and she was just looking back.

"That's my favorite too." I admitted. It's my new lock screen on my phone.

A few moments later Beck let Cat down, who then proceeded to punch him multiple times in the arm and back.

"AHH! When did she get a temper?" Beck said, fleeing from her blows.

"No idea…she had it when all this started.' I said, following Andre and the girls into the kitchen. Cat continued to beat up on Beck in the living room until he threw her over his shoulder again.

"Let me down Beck!" Cat yelled.

"Are you going to keep hitting me?" Beck asked as I got plates down from the cabinet.

"Yes!" She quickly responded.

"Then no." he told her. I think he started spinning her again because she started screaming. There's a wall separating the kitchen from the living room so I'm not sure.

Andre, the girls and I tucked into the breakfast Andre bought. It was quickly apparent he stopped by the pancake house nearby.

"I love this place, I hope you guys don't mind…" he said, glancing at Jade and Tori. They didn't notice, they were too busy eating.

"I don't think they mind." I told him, and he smiled back. The charade in the living room kept up for another 10 minutes, and when we finished, they finally came in, smiling.

Jade, Andre and I played a quick session of halo while the two of them were eating. Tori declined to join in saying "I'll kill everyone."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah…right." Jade said, biting her tongue as she and Andre duked it out.

Tori quickly grabbed the controller and followed thru on her promise, massacring us all.

"Trina used to play." Was her explanation.

Jade stood up and pulled Tori and Andre into the living room for a moment.

"We're going to head out…" Jade said abruptly, poking her head into my room.

"Ok…" I said.

_They know it's Wednesday._

They left without incident. "What did they want when they called you in here?" Cat asked, grabbing some clothes from the closet.

"They wanted to know about that actually." I said.

"The closet?"

"The clothes in the closet." I told her. She gave it a once over.

"Ohhhhh…."

"Yeah."

"They thought I'm…like being inappropriate or something?" She wondered.

"I think they were just worried about you, have been ever since I admitted to liking you and the whole Michael thing." I said, spitting out a theory that I had dreamed up.

"Well, they should respect that if I want to…show off…then let me do it. It's your room, your rules. Do you care if I do that?" She asked.

"Whatever makes you comfortable…just please wear a towel. Or just warn me so I can close the blinds and leave the room."

"You can stay if you want…" Cat mumbled and blushed.

"Cat…" I groaned.

"What? I told you already, I trust you Robbie."

"But Cat, that's a different kind of trust. That's…I don't know what to call it." I admitted, refusing to take my eyes off the comforter.

"It's love Robbie. I love you. And we already tried that kind of trust and I think it worked out well, what about you?"

"You don't want my opinion."

"Is it bad?" She asked, looking afraid.

"No, it's just very…stereotypical of a guy." I managed to say.

"Tell me." She said, grabbing my hand.

"I had a dream…"

"Me?" She asked, smirking ever so slightly.

"Yeah."

"Was I good?"

"Cat…"

"I'll find out one of these days. Tell me, I won't judge you."

"I wrecked the sheets, ok?" I said, jamming my face into my pillow.

Cat gently lifted the pillow off my face and kissed me softly. "I think that answers my question."

"You're not grossed out or anything?" I asked, incredulous.

"No…I have had the same thing happen so I understand. Just you wait until you get a cast on that leg. Then we'll see ok?" She smiled.

"Why are you so…willing to talk about that stuff?" I wondered aloud. She smiled and sat down on my lap.

"Because you're a teenage guy…and I know you get urges so…I don't know…is it awkward for you? I can stop…" She wondered.

"Hey…" I started, but stopped once I realized that I had no idea what I was going to say. Cat patiently waited for me to speak, face neutral, if anything it was worried.

"I don't want you to feel pressured to do anything. You can do whatever you want." I told her. She seemed relieved, but quickly her face turned optimistic.

"Do you want to see me like that? If you do…I wouldn't mind." Cat told me.

"Cat, you make me sound like all I want is your body." I groaned.

"Well, that was what you wanted at first…" Cat smiled deviously as I glared at her.

"Alright, alright…"

"Robbie, tell me." Cat demanded.

"It sounds so bad though!" I protested. Cat scowled at me.

"I can take it, tell me."

"Fine. You have the best body I've ever seen and…I admit, I wouldn't mind seeing you…with less stuff on." I said, immediately going red and putting my face down into my pillow.

"Ok, not today. Soon, I promise." She said, kissing me on the cheek then proceeding to her shower.

It took me about 5 minutes for me to "calm down". Stupid leg erases all good options for that kind of thing.

_I just asked cat to…what did I ask her to do? Be more like Tori? No, Tori's better than that…I don't know, I just know I basically asked her to strip in front of me. Which, knowing her, will be coming soon._ I thought, as I pulled up my journal to love for the first time since I yelled at Cat in the SUV. Putting all the recent goings on in my life, it made me realize that a lot has gone on, and we still have some of summer to continue. All the happy memories of Cat and I, hanging out, we were about to make more as time went on.

_Can't wait._

"I'm ready." Cat said, fully dressed. We made it out to the driveway, where she prevented me from getting into my car.

"No, you are with me. No complaining." She demanded, sitting me down in the passenger seat and buckling me in, being very gentle.

"Ok mom." I told her as she made her way to her seat.

"I don't think your mom would do this…" She whispered, kissing me gracefully.

"I don't think she would either." I breathed once we separated.

The drive to her house was quick, and her parents ushered me into the house very quickly.

"Thanks for all the help lat night Mrs." I told cat's mom, who was fussing over not getting me something to drink.

"Sucks about your leg Robbie." Mr. Valentine said.

"Yeah."

" So your parents are living in Barcelona for a year?" Mrs. Valentine asked.

"Uh huh, they're setting up a office there."

"That's a big statement on you Robbie, they trust you a lot." Cat's mom told me.

"If you ever feel you need some advice or just to hang out you can always come here. You're always welcome." Mr. Valentine said, as Cat stepped out of the room.

"Are you guys till wanting to see a movie?"

"I want to, but she might force me to stay here…" I wondered aloud.

"You'll go, you need to get out." Mrs. Valentine said.

"Ok."

Quickly I was ushered into a entertainment room where they basically ordered me to stay for the day. I reluctantly agreed, but did make effective use of the time to continue working on the journal, this time adding some of the stuff that sells books, the salacious details. I've already decided to give everyone in the story aliases so nobody will know it is us.

Cat and her parents are in another room, and suddenly the sound of raised voices can be heard.

"Mom! Dad, tell her he can't do that!" Cat whined.

"Sorry cupcake, he is going nuts. You love going with him, why don't you want to go?"

"He's hurt! I can't stop him but you guys can!" Cat defended herself.

"He might be hurt, but he doesn't want to be confined sweetie, you have to let him be who he wants to be." Mrs. Valentine explained

"But,—"

"No buts sweetie, are you ready to go out and have fun without your annoying parents?" Mrs. Valentine said.

"We're coming back later anyway, so no, I can't get away from my annoying parents." Cat said, stomping off towards the TV room. I quickly make it look like I was working instead of hearing their discussion.

"How are you feeling?" She asked sweetly, sitting softly of the edge of the couch.

"Fine, what's up?" I asked.

"You up for a movie?" Cat asked, clearly hiding her thoughts.

"Sure, its 6:30 so we better get going." I said, grabbing my crutches. I made my way to the living room while Cat grabbed her purse.

"You convinced her alright." I said, looking at Cat's father.

"I did." "Have fun you two!" He said cheerily as Cat appeared. We climbed into the SUV and drove off.

The tension in the vehicle was evident. She gripped the wheel tighter than usual and had the radio louder than ever. I took it as a sign to keep quiet.

She did open up a little once we reached the outdoor pizza restaurant that is one of her favorites.

"I'm sorry Robbie." Cat said after liberally applying her favorite mix of cheeses to her side of the pizza.

"Why are you saying sorry? I'm the one who should be saying sorry. If it wasn't for me busting my leg we would be going back to my place tonight."

Cat's eyes widened.

_I wasn't supposed to know that…_

"How do you know that?" She asked, putting her slice back down.

"I heard the discussion before you came to talk to me." I admitted, busying myself with eating.

Cat was quiet for a moment. I seized the moment to type out a message to both of her parents.

Can she stay at my place tonight? She really doesn't want to see you guys. I understand if you say no.

"I just want what is best for you." Cat blurted out, finally recovering herself to start eating.

"Sunshine, sometimes that's a different thing from what I want."

"You can't always get what you want." Cat responded.

"And I shouldn't. But sometimes you have to relent." I said as my phone vibrated.

_I had a feeling you overheard us. Sorry you had to hear that. If that helps out tonight, then sure.-Mr. Valentine_

I smiled, and then gave Cat my phone with the message open. She read intently, then looks at me, then went "EEP!" in sheer delight.

I smiled. "How do you do this? They never give in on anything!" Cat asked me.

"They just want you to be happy."

We finished the dinner without further developments, and once we drove to the theater, we realized we had a problem.

"I don't want to see anything that's showing." Cat said quietly.

I nodded. Talk about a bad movie season. We had seen all the good ones and still bumped into some low quality films by accident.

"Have you ever been to a drive in Movie Theater?" I asked. Cat paled and shrunk from me.

_I hit something. What is going on…?_

"Cat, is something wrong?" I asked. She grabbed my hand and we walked back out to her SUV, but she refused to get in.

"Fine! Don't get it then. Just tell me what's wrong!" I demanded, looking right at her. She mumbled something about "last time…"

_I just destroyed her night…without even realizing it._

"It's Michael isn't it." I said suddenly, not even considering I could be wrong, causing her to look at me, frightened.

"That's where it all started. Where he nearly got to you." I said. Cat nodded, then looked away.

"We can do whatever you want sunshine." I reassured her, placing my hand on her shoulder, the least dangerous place I could think of.

"I want to go. I just don't want…"

"Anything you want." I told her.

The place wasn't very far away, and I bought tickets for E.T. Her favorite movie. Once we parked Cat stretched out in the Storage area behind the second row of seats. I moved to sit with her but she said "nuh uh" and pushed me away.

I just sat on the edge of the tailgate, in shock. _She doesn't completely trust me. She is willing to let me sleep with her and have sex with her, but won't let me comfort her about a horrible experience._ After a moment or two I stretched out on the ground as best I could and watched the movie.

I've seen E.T a million times, it's a great movie, the best 80's movie in my opinion. I've never just zoned out during it, I have basically all of Elliot's lines memorized and I didn't quote him once.

The drive to my house was quiet, and after we got ready for bed she simply hugged me and said "Night Robbie." Then turned on her side, away from me and soon started snoring softly. That's right, occasionally, Cat snores.

I just couldn't fall asleep for a long time._ What else don't I know about her? I haven't actually learned a lot about her ever since we got this close. Just that she doesn't like Chinese all that much, loves basically all Italian, mini golfing is her favorite sport and has a fiery temper and a tendency to ratchet things up in bed._

_She's an enigma. A wonderful girl, very trusting, but still an enigma._


	35. The Story of Us

I've never done any public speaking. The biggest presentation I've ever done was on stage, and that really isn't public speaking, that's performing. Now, I'm in front of about 175 middle school kids and I'm supposed to speak. I can't even form a coherent thought. Luckily, my speech doesn't require coherent thought.

"And, now, Mr. Robbie Shapiro…" Some guy at the microphone said. I stepped out, shook his hand, and took a deep breath.

_Here goes 3 hours…_

"Hi everyone, I'm Robbie. Now you were probably expecting someone older, better dressed or even better looking. Well, if you're looking for that, Shia Labeouf is at the Ritz- Carlton so…"

The crowd laughed, just as I was hoping they would. Rule # 1 I was taught about public speaking. Get your audience on your side.

I smiled, "Anyway, in all seriousness I'm here to talk to you about something that is very important to everyone's life, but it's not like the Middle East or global warming."

Confused faces met my gaze.

"Now, I want everyone to be honest when answering this question. How many of you guys in here are in love?"

Just about everyone raised their hand.

"Good…that's good." I made my way down to the audience's level and approached a tiny kid with blonde hair, who looked frightened at the prospect of admitting his feelings.

"Hey man…mind if I ask you a couple of things?"

"Sure." He said quietly.

"You raised your hand right?"

"Yes." A taller boy to the left snickered.

"Hey, I saw you raise your hand, don't you laugh at him or I'm coming to you next buddy." I shot at him, causing him to quickly occupy himself and avoid my gaze.

"Sorry about that. Now you raised your hand. Are you good friends with the girl you like?" I asked.

"Kinda…I see her a lot, but we never really hang out." He said, sounding depressed.

"Hey, don't worry. You're a good kid, things will change. Maybe not her, but some other girl who sees you and loves you for who You are." I said, glancing at the kid on my left, who immediately looked back down. I got back up on stage.

"Now, another show of hands, how many people have said teenage love doesn't last?" I asked the crowd. This time EVERYONE raised their hands.

"One last question. Who has heard you can't date your best friend?" Everyone raised their hands, but that wasn't what I was focusing on. The blonde boy had snuck looks at a blonde girl, who was taller than him and on the other side of the room. Also, the taller boy had whispered something to his friend.

"Ok…." I said, making my way over to the girl. "Can you please come with me?" I guided her over to the boy and had her sit next to the boy. He blushed and I heard him say softly "Hi Ashley."

I moved out of earshot, moving back over to the taller boy. "Ok. I've had enough of you. This is important to a lot people here. Get out." I ordered, pointing towards the door.

The organizer said if I ran into someone like him, I could kick him out, no questions asked.

"But I need to stay to get an A." he dumbly replied.

"Let me guess…summer school? Get your grades up and get out. Now." I said firmly. He bowed his head and exited the room as I got back up there.

"Thank you for answering all of my questions. Now I'm here to tell you why teenage love does last, and you can date your best friend. How do I know? I'm doing it right now." I said, as a mental image of Cat popped into my head.

I had the entire audience hypnotized. It was clear they had come voluntarily, not for summer school credit.

"Ok, time for a story. I met a girl, when I was about your age. I was a really shy kid, gone through some stuff and wasn't really up to trusting people. She was a socialite deluxe and never noticed me. I didn't like her yet, and as I said, she didn't give me the light of day. That might be you right now. Hang on before you get too down."

"This also might be you. So close to the girl you like everyone THINKS you're dating, but when the topic is broached it gets awkward REALLY fast. Now, it's not hopeless. You might be one of these, both, or neither. But this story applies to everyone." The blonde kid snuck a glance at the girl, who was looking at him discreetly.

_Now we're getting somewhere…_

"As I said, I met this girl, and she never talked to me. Until a couple of years ago, where her gigantic circle of friends had diminished because she continued to be herself and people didn't like that. I don't understand why, but that's what happened. One day she was all alone when we were told to get partnered up. My friends told me to join them, but I saw her, and immediately went over. She seemed surprised I wanted to work with her, since basically everyone else had abandoned her. We started talking, texting, and she let me into her new, much tighter and close knit group of friends."

"Things were good for awhile. Then one day I hugged her, and I never wanted to let go. Her perfume, her hair, something just entranced me. Later on, I realized it was actually her that had entranced me. She had started dating guys that weren't the best for her, and I found myself hoping to get a shot, but when the time came, never jumping on it."

"Finally, I asked her to a school dance." _Prome. I thought to myself, smiling._ "We were definitely best friends by this time, and I was certainly in love with her. But she did something I hadn't thought of. She turned me down, saying she had a date with another guy. The weird thing was, when the night came along, there wasn't a guy."

Every guy groaned and looked at me sympathetically. The girls looked away, looking busted.

_Apparently this is more common than I thought…_

"I wasn't too mad. Disappointed, yes, mad, no. More than anything I wanted her honesty, even if she didn't like me 'that way'. Quickly, she actually met a guy, who was nice enough, and I faced the reality of 'hey, maybe this isn't going to work out after all'."

More discouraged looks.

"Before I knew it, she had worked through 4 guys with no indication of slowing down. Each time she had slowly worn me down. She had been with a nice guy, a bad boy, some one older and then younger. It made no sense, why wasn't I willing to at least try? She had already struck out 4 consecutive times."

"Actually, things didn't get going until someone decided to step in. My friends, which have to be the best group of friends in the world. One of them saw how every hug I gave her was tighter, how I was always there for her. Day, night, rain or shine. I was more reliable than the damn postal service for her."

The crowd laughed again. _I am doing awesome!_

"They intervened, saying, yes, I did have a shot. I just need to be patient and then actually make a move. By then, she had moved on again." The guys frowned again, except for the little blonde boy, who had engaged in a texting conversation with the girl next to him. He seemed to be enjoying himself, so I let it slide.

"This time, he messed up, bad. The break up was horrible, and my friends had to intervene to prevent her from getting hurt. She cried herself to sleep that night, and felt terrible because she had let things get really bad. It wasn't her fault though, the guy was a jerk." 

"But then the two of us got really close. We started seeing movies together and having dinner. One of my friends referenced it as a date night, at which point she interrupted, saying she had a new boyfriend, and that we weren't going out. That was a stunner. Another guy. The worse part was that they had been going out for most of the time I had been eating out with her."

"I didn't handle that too well. We had an enormous argument, which led to us not speaking for a few days. That was the worst part. Not talking to her. I felt betrayed. I loved her, and she went and did THIS? It just wasn't fair. Then one day, I took a chance."

People leaned forward, engrossed in the story.

"I went to her house, and we talked things out. Eventually she figured out I liked her, and she told me she really cared about me. Not like a friend, but not like a boyfriend either. A gray area. But I was willing to try."

"And try we did. It went pretty well, even to the point that our parents actually thought we were dating. But there was one last bump in the road. One more guy."

"I was irked by the fact there was another guy. I got me thinking 'Did she mean what she said? Was all that I did for nothing?' I just followed my friends' advice, and stayed patient."

"Then, I was just hanging out one day when I got a knock on the door. It was her. I had told her previously if she ever needed to see me, just come by. Well, she did just that. I calmed her down and even got her laughing again, when she did something that surprised even me."

The anticipation was mounting, and I was even sweating, and I lived this!

"She kissed me."

All the guys looked like they wanted to throw a party. The girls looked embarrassed, but not so much so that they moved away.

"Ever since then, we have been there for one another. It's been amazing, and I shouldn't say that in past tense, because I'm seeing her tonight." I laughed, causing some smiles from guys and girls alike.

"Back when I was helping her get over one of the guys, but wasn't ready to tell her how I felt I inadvertently let her know how special she was to me. I nicknamed her sunshine. She's a very happy, excitable girl. Things are never boring around her, and she keeps everyone from getting too serious because of her simple innocence or how cute she really is. She asked me why I nicknamed her sunshine."

"I told her 'You always brighten my day.' It sounds like a cliché, but it's true. Good day, or bad, if she's there, things get better as if by magic."

I glanced out into the area where the parents were, and I saw 5 people standing in the back.

Beck, with Tori leaning on his shoulder. Jade, smiling. Andre and Cat, listening intently. I almost died and started laughing at the same time. They already know the story, but it still enthralled them.

"The thing is, I'm not the only person that feels that way. Everyone I ask says she makes them happier just by being there. I don't know whether it's her personality, or what it is, but it's truly special." I smiled, motioning for Cat to walk up. Andre pushed her towards the stage, and she resisted, but Beck and Andre pushed her towards the stage. She did eventually come on her own, causing the kids in the audience to look at this gorgeous girl. They were clearly thinking 'Who's she?'"

Cat hopped up on stage. "That girl I told you about? This is that girl. My ray of sunshine. Now, if you have learned anything from today, I want you to remember one thing." I hugged Cat, who was nervous. She smiled up at me, and relaxed, noticing I wouldn't let her down.

"Don't give up. Even when it seems that you'll never find that special someone. It might not even be who you like right now. That just means they don't deserve you. You're special someone IS out there. Don't be afraid to take a chance, the worst that can happen is for them to say no, and you can keep looking. You'll find them eventually. Thank You for listening." I said. The crowd burst into applause. I could here the others in the back, loudly supporting me, not caring how many weird looks they got.

I turned to Cat, who seemed on the edge of tears. I was taken aback for a second before I realized_ wait…those aren't sad tears…she's happy._ I hugged her, and she cried into my shoulder.

I don't know what she said, I just heard mumbled words, but she hugged me tightly. I kissed her hair and said "You're the best."

She shook her head, and this time I heard what she said.

"NO! You are Robbie." She let me go and wiped her eyes. We walked out, Cat holding my hand softly. I passed the others, who grabbed Cat. That's ok though. I want to see something.

I poked my head into the hall, where the little blonde boy and the girl were in a deserted hallway. I got there mid kiss, luckily, they didn't see me. They separated; the girl gave him a hug, whispered something and started walking towards me. I walked towards the boy, when she said something.

"That was an awesome speech! You guys are cute together."

"Thanks." I smiled. "Glad you liked it." She left the hallway, leaving the two of us.

"Was I right about the girl?" I said, gazing back in her direction but standing next to him.

"Yeah…she said she liked me too and wanted to take me to the mall." He said, clearly on cloud nine.

I smiled, realizing I had done something truly amazing, and it seemed so effortless. All I really did was kick one guy out and put two people who liked each other together.

He interrupted my victory lap. "How did you know I liked her?" He asked.

"I saw you glance at her. You didn't see, but your hands were the first two up when I asked who was in love. She glanced at you, while you were too nervous to notice, but when she looked back to me, you looked to her. That's when I noticed."

"Thank you." He said shyly.

"No problem man. I hope it works out." I said. We both exited, and I walked out to be congratulated by lots of excited parents, saying they loved my speech and my timing with Cat was genius. Finally, I got back to my friends.

"Hi…" I said. Jade hugged me.

"That was awesome!" She gushed, as Beck and Andre smiled. Cat was whispering something to Tori.

"How'd you know I was going to be here?" I asked.

"My dad saw that you were going to be speaking in some police thing. He told me, I told everyone else, and you didn't disappoint." Tori smiled at me kindly.

"Thanks."

"Now I have a question." Beck said suddenly.

_Oh no…_

"Why did they never do this when I was in middle school?" He asked, causing everyone to start laughing.

_That's just how things worked out._


End file.
